The Maiden and the Machine
by Danowsawa
Summary: Katsura Sugita, deep in the production of his MEKA units, grows desperate as the omnic crisis grows. On a chance viewing with his daughter, he has the wild idea to recruit gamers to pilot the MEKA, their AI hell-bent on killing any pilots too slow to rewrite their programming. But when trouble starts, Hana Song is thrust into a conflict that threatens to tear her apart.
1. Prodigal Son

Katsura Sugita's head rested lazily on his desk, his eyes closed as he tried his hardest to find some sort of sleep. The harder he tried, the more sleep eluded him, though, given the events of the day, he figured it was only appropriate. He often found it disdainful just how little death affected him these days.

As his head lay there, the door to his office clicked, creaking lowly as it swung open, another man walking in with a steaming mug of coffee in hand and a newspaper tucked under his arm. He groaned as he kicked the door closed, shaking his head with shame as he dropped the thick paper, catching it with his hand and tossing it upon the desk, just in front of Katsura, who slowly raised his head to examine the collection of stories.

"Well, we've hit a other milestone, K," the man muttered as he fell into the opposing chair, sighing in relief as he leaned back, bring his mug up to his lips, "They're calling 'em "death traps" now. Only a matter of time before some writer just crosses the gap and calls us murderers."

Sure enough, as Katsura scanned the paper, the headline stated, in massive, bold letters, right atop the front page, "MEKA Program Kills Another; Health Department Calls MEKAs "Deathtraps"".

"Well, we can't get much lower than this," Katsura muttered, emotionlessly, as he dropped the newspaper, leaning back in his chair and rubbing his eyes, tiredly, "I know what you're going to say, Jeong."

The man across from him shrugged simply, as if Katsura's words had ceased to affect him after years of repeated use, "As long as you're able to secure funding, hey, who am I to judge? I'm just here to make sure you're doing _something_. The fact that your research involves about a death a week should tell you just how desperate Korea is."

Jeong pulled out his phone as he nursed his mug, his eyes straining downward as he picked at the screen with his thumb, "Let's see how the Tokyo papers put it; that's always fun."

Katsura sighed, shaking his head as he leaned forward onto his desk, fiddling with a pen, "I doubt that'll be useful in any-"

"Japan's Once-Brightest Son Puts Another Youth To Death In Pursuit of Failure," Jeong muttered aloud, shrugging again, "They never speak in measured terms, do they?"

Katsura eyed him plainly, "You know, how about we just ignore headlines from now on. You're not my PR guy, anyway."

"Thank fuck for that," Jeong grinned amusedly, slipping his phone back into his pocket, picking his leg up to rest atop his knee, growing more somber as he spoke up once again, "Any progress?"

"No," Katsura spoke up, gravely, "I'm working on it."

Jeong growled as he rubbed his face, "You keep saying that. Day in, day out. I don't know how much value you place on your human subjects, but as far as I'm concerned, and as far as my government is concerned, those people are dying in the line of duty."

He groaned exhausted, shaking his head as he began to calm himself, "You sure this is the right way to proceed?"

"I'm not going to create machines that aren't piloted by humans, if that's what you mean," Katsura replied with his own slightly venomous tone from his own exhaustion, "I'm already paying penance for one crime; I'm not going to make another."

Jeong rolled his eyes as he lowered his empty mug onto the desk, reaching down to pull a cigarette from his pocket, bringing his hands and a lighter up to his mouth to light up, "I hope you're right. As long as you don't go killing more people than you're trying to save."

Katsura leaned down over his desk lowering his head onto his hands as he tried, again, to sleep, knowing that Jeong wouldn't allow him to do so. He was the government's sheepdog, brought in to ensure that Katsura, a Japanese man, was truly working toward what they were financing- a mechanized army to defend Korea and her seas. Every day, Jeong questioned "K", as he was called around here, and while the two had developed something of a friendship, Jeong had always kept a safe distance, making sure he didn't move in close enough to breed contempt. To that end, Katsura was smart enough to know, to be sure, never to let the man in on more than he needed to know.

"Your girl doing well?" Jeong questioned quietly, blowing a plume of smoke up toward the ceiling lackadaisically.

"Mhm," Katsura answered, without lifting his head.

"Good, good. My kids start school soon, themselves. Wife's busy getting all their stuff ready while I'm here fifteen hours a day," Jeong muttered, scratching at his face as he smirked childishly, "Never said I hated it though. Little rugrats."

Katsura rolled his eyes, hidden by his downward-facing posture, thinking of how often he missed being with his own daughter. How much he regretted that his line of work included such an assortment of demons to have become more like a rogues gallery for which he constantly had to face, no matter where he lived. Such dreadful feelings he had, exacerbated ever further the longer he remained at work every day, his daughter nearly leading a life devoid of him.

While Jeong leaned his head back to rest, Katsura only perked up at the sound of the door handle turning, revealing a scrawny man, his secretary of sorts, poking his head into the office, "Eh… K? General Park is here."

Katsura's body jumped at the words, his head quickly turning up to eye the secretary, " _Park_?"

Jeong's eyes grew dim as he lazily turned his body toward the door, asking critically, " _He's_ the replacement?"

The secretary shrugged, "He just showed up, spouting off that he was the new Secretary of Defense and wanted to see the MEKA program for himself. See where all the funding was going."

Katsura fell back into his chair, covering his face with both hands as he groaned, exasperatingly, "Oh fuuuck."

Realizing the sordid air he had brought along with him, the secretary quietly slipped out as Jeong turned back in his chair, dropping his cigarette to the ground and smushing it with a foot, "Well _that_ was unexpected. I'll keep this pack with me just in case you need one."

He juggled his coat to signal his pack of cigarettes, though without seeing him, Katsura simply shook his head, "You know I don't smoke anymore."

"No, but you'll start again after this meeting," Jeong assured with a shrug, "Park's a hardass, don't you know?"

Katsura sighed heavily, "All too well…"

He went on mumbling to himself, complaining as he took to his feet and grabbed ahold of the light sweater that had been thrown on a nearby stool, walking toward the door as Jeong stood to go along as well, the handler sighing as the two made their way out the door. The two men strolled out from the small office into a massive airplane hangar that had, basically, been converted into a workshop. The entire MEKA production took place underneath this single roof, with testing taking place just outside on the tarmac. Katsura and Jeong walked through the scattered patches of workers, knowing exactly where they would find their visitor.

"Of all the military officials, they had to go with Park," Katsura complained, lowly, pulling his sweater on and stuffing his hands into its pockets.

Jeong shrugged, "Makes sense. Taking a reactive stance hasn't gotten this country all that far. No doubt the higher ups wanted to try a more proactive stance."

"Then I have no place here," Katsura shot back, vehemently.

His handler turned to him, his lips curling inward with indifference, "I'm sure that's what this meeting is to decide, as much of a surprise as it was. Knowing General Park, he'll want to find out why money and soldiers are being sent _here_ , rather than the coast."

"I won't work for any government body that controls my aims," Katsura replied, coldly, "That's why I left my home. If Park wants to tell me what _I_ should do, then _he_ should spend fifteen years learning robotics instead of how to pull a trigger. This military can go fuck themselves if they think guns can prevent this."

Jeong's forehead suddenly shrunk in disdain, " _I'm_ in the military, so shut your mouth. No point in complaining until you hear what Park has to say; who knows, maybe he'll like what you're doing here."

"They start puttin' drugs in those cigarettes?" Katsura asked with a droll tone, leaving Jeong to roll his eyes as the engineer went on, "Park's never liked me. If it isn't about my ethnicity, it's about how much funding I'm getting instead of him and his stupid nuclear arms dance."

Jeong shrugged, "Luckily, one of you have history on their side. and public opinion. I think any number of Koreans would rather take on an Omnic with their bare hands instead of launching nuclear torpedoes into their waters. Park's a brute though; you can't change his mind. Probably why they sent him, just to get you to sweat a little."

"And hurry up," Katsura shook his head, "Three years in and I'm positive these MEKA units are the way to go. But you can't rush when lives are on the line- especially Park's men."

"Well, you'd better come up with a sound argument," Jeong warned, gesturing his head forward, "There's our new supervisor."

The two rounded a final corner, revealing the rotund-shaped, robust machine that stood in the middle of this workspace. Its legs stood still, the shape of them resulting from three years of engineering, figuring where weight would be distributed. Its two arms ending in cannons, and its most important feature- a bulbous window sitting prominently at the front of its blue body, where the pilot was to be during operation.

This was Katsura's MEKA- Mobile Exo-Force of the Korean Army. Designed for one thing: to repel the omnics that continued to rise out from the ocean, seeking out the destruction of Korea itself.

General Park was circling the machine, staring at its every nook and cranny, his eyes squinted in examination as his hands held each other behind his back. Katsura stood at the perimeter of the workspace, in view of the general's aides, while Jeong approached the muscular man, saluting as Park noticed the two newcomers from the corner of his eyes, rising up and staring right at Katsura.

"Sugita?" his voice rumbled deeply, escaping past the sneer of his face.

Katsura nodded.

"Would you care to explain why this program of yours has done less than _nothing_ for this conflict, yet you continue to kill off my soldiers?" Park's face grimaced, "I believe the number was in the hundreds?"

Katsura turned to Jeong, who remained saluting as he spoke up, "Sir, as Sugita's overseer, I can assure you-"

"No," Park ordered, causing Jeong to jump in surprise, "I want to hear it from the Jjokbari himself."

Katsura's eyes dipped low, having grown accustomed to such derogatory terms in his time here. It didn't faze him, though he was deep in thought as he subtly tried to work up an explanation in his mind that would get this man off his back; being a surprise inspection, he had no idea, and no time to come up with a presentation or anything- he'd always been slow on his wit, rather choosing to prepare, and over-prepare, when possible.

He shrugged as he stepped toward the General, passing Jeong and his saluting arm, before approaching the curving shell of the MEKA unit, looking into the transparent window that housed the cockpit, "I never allowed any soldier in here that wasn't aware of the risks. Every last one of them understood them, and chose to die for their country in the pursuit of-"

"Oh, spare me the patriotism, Jjokbari; we both know you're only here because those goons back home wanted you gone," Park scoffed.

Katsura gave him a sidelong glance, a steady anger brimming within him as his body turned to face him, "What you see, here, is the result of years of tireless labor and engineering; the perfect machine, capable of winning this war. It's an AI-integrated vehicle, able to keep pace with any omnic that opposes it; it writes millions of lines of code in mere seconds, allowing it to think as fast as, if not faster, than the omnics were facing from the South China Sea."

Unimpressed, Park eyed him cynically, "So why the holdup if these are going to "win" this war?"

Katsura lowered his shoulders, rubbing his arm, "Because, when I was asked to come here to build them, I made it clear, under one single stipulation- there had to be a human being piloting these things. You give a machine total freedom to roam and think for itself, that's what gets you wars like this one in the first place."

He paused for a moment, thinking over his next words carefully, "Unfortunately, every time we put a pilot into one of these MEKAs, the machines don't exactly…cooperate."

Park's eyes narrowed, disdainfully, "So you're-"

"Doing my job? Yes," Katsura answered, "As long as _your_ government keeps me busy and financed- They understand what's going on here. They know what's on the line. They know what these things can do…if we get them right."

Park grumbled, eyeing Jeong with a slight rolling of the eyes, "Oh, put that hand down!"

Jeong obeyed immediately, whipping his arm down and to his side before slouching, only slightly, as Park returned his attention to Katsura, "So what's the issue with the pilots? By my last count, two hundred and nineteen soldiers- _my_ soldiers- have died at _your_ direction. Sugita, you'd better explain _that_! That one back in January- the- the corporal! He hadn't much of anything left to examine by the coroner!"

As though subtly making a swipe in retaliation, Katsura replied evenly, "Corporal Chun Dae volunteered after we had made a breakthrough regarding the positronic differentiator, January 4th. He had been training for months to pilot the MEKA; he was _not_ under my direction. He was one of our best; lasted longer than Sonu Tohyon, twenty-three, and Sargeant Pom-"

"What are you trying to prove, Jjokbari? Because if you think you value these men's lives more than I do, you're sorely mistaken," Park growled with a festering anger as if he were prepared to return outside his uniform.

Katsura returned a fierce glance, "This isn't a game. Not to me. Everybody who crawled into these things, I take every bit of responsibility for their status. Those who survive with severe injuries, and especially those who die because _I_ fucked up."

Unimpressed, Park muttered, "What is it, exactly, you keep fucking up?"

"From what we can all tell, the AIs don't take favorably to being piloted, it seems," Katsura admitted blandly, still downtrodden from his last statement, "While we start each session off of a clean slate, the AI's programming writes so fast that, regardless of what we do, they inevitably come to the conclusion that, much like a parasite within our own bodies, they don't want them in there any longer."

He eyed a nearby computer, "We keep all of the data servers on-site, that is, not within the MEKA unit, but there's only so much we can do to make them slow enough for our pilots to manage, yet fast enough to compete with these omnics."

Katsura's eyes shut mournfully, his mind wandering back to the last test they had concluded, just the day before. He could see, so clearly, the MEKA stepping in circles as the pilot took it around- everything was working so perfectly. When instructed to exit, however, the pilot stared out the window, panicked, the hatch refusing to open. Katsura heard the quick, heavy stomping as the pilot cried out, kicking the hatch as best he could, knowing full well what was happening. In the quickest of seconds, as Katsura's team of programmers tried desperately to override the MEKA's AI, the machine drew back its lengthy, slender arm before shooting it back toward itself, smashing the clear glass that protected the pilot as its claw mangled the pilot's face, sending blood flying out from the MEKA unit until, finally, the machine paused.

The scientist bowed his head, respectfully, "This is our last obstacle. and I've lost too many men and women to stop now."

General Park scoffed, shaking his head, "Sounds like a case where they would have all been better off doing something useful to end this war, not helping a madman get his kicks. Of all the solutions, I'm appalled that _you_ manage to be the 'solution' that receives the most funds. Obviously, my predecessor didn't share much before his untimely death, but surely, he was insane to think that having soldiers die, here, was worth more than dying, heroically, out there."

Jeong turned to Katsura, worriedly, knowing what the scientist would say next. What he would _have_ to say. It was a desperate tactic that he had been forced to use time and time again whenever he encountered his doubters, and General Park was the most belligerent of them all. Despite that, however, his timing was impeccable:

Park shook his head, turning toward his two aides, "I can't believe this. What makes this Jjokbari so special in the eyes of the government?"

Katsura's head lowered ever so subtly, his eyes just barely peering up toward the general as his voice escaped him, carrying the unmistakable air of venom as he spoke up, quietly.

"Because, the omnics you're fighting? I built them. I know them. and I know what it will take to defeat them."

* * *

"Well, that went better than I could have expected," Jeong yammered absently as he followed Katsuta back into his office, "I was expecting blood though, so…"

Katsura shook his head as he reached for his coat, hanging freely from a rack, "Just because he didn't end the project right then and there doesn't mean it won't be his first order of business when he gets back to Seoul. You said yourself the other day, we're only continuing along because the ruling faction is behind us. Take that away-"

Jeong laughed, gravelly, as he pulled out his cigarettes, "Thank god we haven't encountered an election year. Boy, we'd be fucked, huh?"

Katsura's eyes narrowed, his head turning slowly up toward his handler, " _We_?"

"Shut up; don't take it as having any meaning," Jeong groaned, earning a light smile from the scientist across the room, "You've got me invested. So what?"

Katsura's grin only grew at the man's insistence, turning away to hide his face as Jeong asked somberly, "You headin' out?"

"Sixteen hours and an undressing in front of every one of my subordinates? Yes, I'm heading home," Katsura complained as he fumbled in his pocket, looked down toward it as he so, confusedly, "Damn, I forgot the grocery list."

His head fell backward as he groaned, his eyes shut tightly, giving Jeong another chuckle, "Makes you miss the old lady more, huh?"

Katsura sighed, returning his glare back to his empty hand, "No, it's just Hana's birthday this weekend and I like to, at least, pretend I'm around more often to remember these things. She always enjoys teasing me about forgetting stuff. Pretty quick for a fifteen year old, I'd think."

"Ah," Jeong nodded, thinking of his own kids, "I think mine were still crawling around at that age; I honestly don't know. Since this thing started; it's screwed up everybody's minds, I guess."

Katsura turned toward the door, "Well, I'd like to try my best at not missing out on my daughter just because of work. Just because my career is made on ruined lives, I'd like to think there's at least one I'm not ending."

He sighed a final time before pulling open the door, "See you tomorrow?"

"Eh, Park's sidekick told me to stop up there tomorrow, so I'll probably be gone," Jeong complained, taking an extended swig of his cigarette as he rolled his eyes, "Probably just to get my take on everything. Get some dirt on you, maybe."

Turning toward his handler, Katsura eyed him worriedly, though Jeong only grinned, shrugging as he reached up to hold his cigarette, "If I didn't believe in this, I wouldn't be around. Trust me; I haven't seen anything we haven't reported."

Katsura sighed, relieved, turning back to the door, "Thanks."

"Don't mention it," Jeong replied, taking a seat in his chair in front of the desk, "Say hi to the kid for me. I'll hang out here a bit longer before sending everyone home. You have any ideas for tomorrow?"

"No," Katsura shook his head, "I'll think of something. We'll just have to work with the AI operators, see what they can do; maybe lowering the thresholds and seeing how agile they can be."

His eyes lowered to the ground, sadly, "Sung-Min, the boy who died the other week… I realized today that his death- It didn't affect me like they used to."

A pain shot through his chest as he admitted to Jeong the fact he couldn't even admit to himself just a few hours earlier, "I've never felt so inhuman."

Jeong shrugged, looking away in his seat as he brought his feet up onto the desk, "All the better to get into those MEKA's minds, I suppose."

Not receiving the reassurance he was expecting, Katsura gripped the wooden door, frustrated in himself. His lips pulled together tightly as he took a step out of the office, only stopped in his tracks by the voice of Jeong, who spoke up, lowly, but sincerely.

"If I didn't think you could do this, I wouldn't have let my son get into one of your contraptions."

Katsura felt his feet go numb for a moment, his grip along the door tightening for a brief second before it slid down it, falling to his side, "How's he doing, anyway?"

"Still nothing but a heartbeat," Jeong answered, "Perk of being a military child- he's spared no expense. When I get back, we're all going to see him, cut his hair and everything. You should see him sometime."

Katsura quickly evaded giving an answer as he replied, "I don't think-"

"He'd be happy to know his superior came to see him," Jeong interrupted, "He always thought it was cool you were building mechs like the ones he idolized growin' up. That wasn't the term he used- 'badass' or something, I dunno. First day he was chosen, he was like a child at Christmas."

Katsura's eyes fell, his hand tugging at the knob of the door, "Childhood heroes are never what you think they are."

"Maybe not," Jeong shrugged, pulling his arm up to his face for another lazy swig of his cigarette, sighing deeply as smoke flew from is nostrils, "Still made him happier than I'd ever seen."

Taken hold by the tense silence, Katsura bit his lip as he remained by the door, staring down at the floor beneath his feet, concentrating on nothing in particular, lest his mind grow to become enclosed by the time he returned home. Jeong seemed to notice something wrong with the air, his head shaking as he leaned forward to to find the bottle of scotch he'd left on the table the other day.

"Anyway, you don't need any more musings from an old pup like me. Get on home," Jeong offered with a smile, his voice an octave higher as he clutched the ornate bottle beneath the small office table, "See you at some point, K. Park'll come around."

"I hope so," came a reply as Katsura gave a solemn nod, bowing his shoulders low before turning to leave, "See you soon. Good luck."

"Eh, heh heh," Jeong chortled, "When've I ever had _that_?"


	2. Hana Sugita

Katsura grunted with every step as he made it to the final stairwell up to his apartment, carrying two handfuls of paper bags with him, his steps growing quicker once the prospect of losing the cold groceries to the warmth occurred to him. He panted quietly as he made it to his floor, holding his head low in exhaustion, eyeing the various contents in the bags that would, eventually, become his daughter's birthday meal.

Approaching his door, he gave a few swift kicks to get his daughter's attention as he laid the bags down, his body rising up slowly with creaking joints, his breath suddenly escaping in a yawn while stretching his arms into the air. Finished with his routine, he gave a knock on the door, harder than his kicks, though after a few more moments, it still remained unopened.

He sighed, reaching into his stuffed pockets, trying to find his keys. Retrieving them with an unimpressed frown, he unlocked the door, entering the second phase of his entry as he lifted the heavy bags into the small home, his body much less willing to cooperate this time around. As he lugged the assortment of groceries past the living room area, he saw his daughter sitting at the short table, hunched over as she played a video game, the television on some sort of competition.

"H-Hana! Help me out here," Katsura grunted, finally catching his daughter's attention.

She spun her legs out from beneath the blanketed table and jumped to her feet, hurrying over to her father's side, "Why didn't you knock?!"

He eyed her disappointedly, catching her in a surprised gasp, "Did I miss it again?!"

He nodded in reply, just managing a weak grin as he continued along, leaving a few bags for Hana to carry, "Maybe one of these days you'll be more in-tune with the real world for once. I know there's not much to look at, but-"

He grunted loudly as he pulled the bags up onto the counter, growling low in relief as his arms fell to his sides, smiling, "I'd like to think I'm _trying_ to make it better."

Hana struggled to get her own bags onto the counter, leaving her father in amusement as she did so, her body not making nearly as much noise as his body had begun to make after such things. Only in his late forties, Katsura's body aged quicker after many years of engineering work, particularly the grimy, laborious portions if it, leaving much of himself rather unsteady and achy. As Hana easily recovered from her assisting, she quickly rushed back to the edge of the kitchen, peering through toward the television, her father only shaking his head with amusement.

"Didn't we have a deal?" he mused, pulling out the heavier of the groceries.

Hana frowned without looking away, "Just because I'm watching television doesn't mean I'm not attentive."

Her father nodded, "I'll remember that the next time my knocking goes unanswered. Maybe even on the night of your birthday preparations, as well…"

She groaned lightly, pulling herself away and returning to his side, grabbing a large container as Katsura patted the top of the plastic to direct her. Her voice creaking under the weight, she still managed to stick it in the nearby pantry, returning to the counter, easily.

"Man, if I had my youth back, I wouldn't be sitting at the television all night," he grinned, shaking his head, "Youth wasted on the young, as they say."

Hana eyed him sarcastically, "Oh yeah; like playing with robots all day is so much different."

"If you can turn watching television into a job that pays the bills, I won't have an ill thing to say, my child," Katsura nodded knowingly, handing Hana another pair of canisters, "Until then, I'm your father; I'm allowed to poke and prod when it comes to your future. You've got quite a head up on your shoulders, you know."

"Yeah right," Hana muttered with a disapproving voice as the cabinet shut with a _bang_.

Katsura assured her, "Come now, you know it's true. Now, what were you watching? That guy who plays the fighting game that you think is cute?"

"Dad!" Hana cried out in embarrassment, though it only forced a shrug from her father.

"What? Even when he's not live, you're falling asleep to-"

"Dad! I'm gonna punch you!" Hana warned with a feverish air, "For your information, I was watching a tournament! A serious one. Like with money."

Katsura nodded, "Ah, like my old colosseum tourneys, huh?"

"Col- Coli- Coli-what?" Hana asked, attempting to force the word beyond her tongue.

"Coliseum, dear."

She repeated, "Coli… Oh! Like in Ancient Rome!"

Katsura's eyes narrowed, "No, uh- Pokémon. Anyway, here, we need to finish these groceries up. Then I'll go over your homework, alright?"

"But dad! The qualifying round'll-!"

Her father's face grew serious as he finished for her, "-will be there afterwards. I should know; how else do you watch that 'Flame' guy until you fall asleep?"

"DAD!" Hana shouted in horror, releasing a weakened punch toward her father, who only grinned at her display before bowing his head, quieting her outburst.

"Calm down; I'll cut it out. Here…and here. Pantry please," he instructed, shaking his head with a smirk while placing a few boxes of food atop the counter, "I'd like to think I've largely avoided the pitfalls of raising a teenager."

"You wish," Hana grunted defiantly, grunting severely as she worked her way back into the pantry, "Just because I enjoy being home and watching game events, don't think I can't go out, tonight, and start doing drugs if that would make you feel a bit more fulfilled."

Chuckling at his daughter wit, Katsura shook his head while stacking canned goods in a nearby cabinet, "I'll count my blessings, don't worry."

"Be-sides," she grunted, throwing a large sack of potatoes onto a shelf and shouting the pantry door behind her, "You'll wish I had stayed home later when they show the team finals! 'Bohemoths' are the team to beat, but they're in the best bracket, so it'll be insane to see them-"

She watched her father as he eyed her with a sort of look that indicated he was wanting her to mention something, which finally took hold of her mind, sending her face screwing into a look of dread, "I know, I know. Only after homework."

"Exactly," Katsura nodded, turning to view the dining room table, "What all's on the docket tonight?"

Frowning, Hana replied lowly, "…fractions. I guess."

"Hey, we'll get it," Katsura assures with a smile, "Look, I'll even let you keep the tv on, muted; you can keep an eye on things. I'll make sure you make it through before your big event."

Hana muttered under her breath as she strode dismissively toward the table, "Doubt it…"

Without having heard her, Katsura turned to prepare some tea for the two of them while flipping through his phone to lower the volume on the television in the other room, leaving he live-stream a muted roar in the background accompanied only by the thuds of Hana passive aggressively dropping and opening up her heavy textbooks. As the tea brewed, he turned to watch his daughter from overtop the counter, his brow curled sadly as he did so, knowing schoolwork had never been something easy for her to come to understand.

Hana's head remained low as she listlessly opened to her work. Guilt ran through Katsura's mind as she did so, wondering, once again, where everything might have gone wrong. Even if his daughter was the way she was, had he been around more to help…would it have made a difference? Such things often ran through the mind of Katsura Sugita; his ever-absent presence from his family wrecking his heart the more he reflected upon such things.

He finished up pouring their tea as Hana quietly poured over her textbooks, worn as they were, her anguished expression clearly visible, both due to her own well-known inadequacies, but also due to the fact that she despised being a burden upon her father, especially when his hours at home were so few these days. She hated him having to waste his free time on her.

A wavering sigh left her, a voice weak with regret pinging out as her father strode toward the table, leaving only a tiny _thump_ at the sound of her resting the mug beside her, "…sorry I'm like this."

"Hey," Katsura spoke quick with a fierce voice, "We'll have none of that. The only thing you're _like_ is my daughter, alright? You're not at all a burden, especially to a man like me who's gone all the time. _Any_ time spent with you is fantastic."

As if in incredulity, Hana muttered under her breath, "Yeah right."

Katsura bit his lip as he took a seat beside her, keeping an eye on his daughter. He remained attentive as she hunched over the table, staring at her school work with a blank expression, her eyes squinted as they ran along the lines of characters, though, while she realized they were, indeed, sentences, her mind couldn't quite understand that they were conveying thoughts and ideas that she was supposed to be reading.

Her father eyed her curiously, putting down his tea as he realized her passivity, leaning closer to look at the sheet of paper, "Need help?"

As a child, Hana had so readily been able to ask for assistance, but as she matured, she had become more ashamed of herself and her wasting more of her father's time by having to help her with such things. Katsura had learned this himself, though instead of pointing it out, he simply went on explaining, reaching a finger over to follow along the line of words.

"It's asking about Napoleon Bonaparte's Hundred Days, right?" he instructed, attentively, though Hana only stared onto the paper without reply.

For years, she had had a difficult time when it came to concentrating, particularly when it came to schoolwork, though, as with her father knocking on the door, Hana oftentimes just simply wasn't able to concentrate on things that weren't in front of her, offering her a source of attention. Katsura recognized her, now, in the midst of one of her spells, and stood up, walking over toward the disc player that sat across from the table.

"This always helps, right?" he asked, rhetorically, as he selected one of the CDs, gently sliding it into the player.

As he returned to his seat, some classical music began to play, which seemed to calm his daughter down somewhat. He breathed easily as he returned to her history worksheet, reaching over to guide her along once again.

"So what would you say led to his downfall?" Katsura asked.

Hana eyed him, curiously, "Who?"

"Napoleon," he repeated, without a hint of frustration as he pointed back down to the page, "You read about his last days in class, right?"

She nodded.

"So, they're asking what you thought was the biggest reason he was defeated," Katsura explained further, his eyes narrowing curiously as he thought over the question himself, "His pride, perhaps? He did choose to return from exile despite knowing the whole of Europe was against him."

Hana continued staring at the page, with only the sound of classical music bridging the silent air around the two of them, her eyes gradually beginning to shake more and more as she tried her best to formulate some thought. She did her absolute best, running words through her mind, trying to pin them down onto extensions of ideas that weren't there. That might _never_ have been there.

Slowly enough, shame began to grow like a weed within her mind. She was stupid; she knew that. She'd known that her whole life. She couldn't ever do anything right, not without it being done in front of her by somebody else. She felt such a growing sense of helplessness, confronted, once again, by her own stupid, stupid inadequacies.

Katsura, himself, was lost in his own words, and so deep in thought, he only peered up toward his daughter's face a moment later, catching her expression slowly turning into one of sadness, her eyes narrowing as tears formed there, her body shivering helplessly as she brought in a sniffle, trying so desperately to pull in tears of a hopeless future until, finally, a drop escaped down her cheek, running around tightly help lips as they trembled in frustration.

"Oh, sweetheart," her father muttered attentively as he quickly reached over to wrap his arms around her in a hug, "It's okay."

Her body jumped in time with her gentle, tearful whimpers, just able to let out, "Why am I so stupid?"

"Hana," Katsura replied, seriously, "You're not stupid just because-"

"I am!" she shouted back, lifting her head as if to challenge her father's words behind her teary, red face, "Don't lie and tell me I'm not! I know I'm last in my class! that everyone teases me about how I need everything explained to me fifty-gazillion times!"

Katsura watched, sadly, as his daughter buried her head into her arms again. This hadn't been the first time they had encountered a situation such as this, though it never became any easier for him to see his daughter like this. He only reached out and held her tightly, pulling her closer toward him in a hug.

Katsura shook his head, "You're not stupid, Hana. You may just have to try hard and-"

"Why?!" Hana shouted defiantly, "Why am I always the one who has to try so much harder?! Why can't _I_ be the one that's good at sports or able to work out math in my head?! Why is it _me_ that's such an idiot?!"

Her father reached over to clutch her shoulder, offering a paternal sort of lifeline to his daughter, "Because if it wasn't you, it might have been somebody else who wasn't nearly as strong as you are. You're also stubborn and headstrong; and you're a scrappy-ass checkers player, so you've got plenty going for you."

Hana broke through her tears with a sudden giggle, shaking her head, "That's a bad word."

"I don't care, you needed a laugh," her father assured with a tightened hug, "It's back off limits though, starting now."

Slightly quelled by her father's comforting tone, Hana hid a frown as her head fell, a slight groan leaving her as she replied, "…fine."

"Okay, how about we take a break for a little bit. We'll get through this all," he appraised, trying on something of an excited face, pointing out the small stack of homework she had completed before he'd gotten home.

She sniffled, "Only because you're gonna help with most of it."

"Hey now," Katsura mused, "If I hadn't any help, I wouldn't have gotten anywhere in life. Your Uncle Ryu had to help me when that hurricane nearly took out the windows, remember?"

Hana laughed, only for a small moment, in between tears, "Y-Yeah. He kept saying mom would have been better suited for coordinated tasks."

"Well," Katsura sighed, "Not all help is the best. Mom's brother didn't ever really like me, I don't think; he mostly just- you know what, now's not the time for this. Let me get some tea for us."

As he stood up and walked toward the kitchen, Hana lifted her head to follow him with her eyes, curiously, as she wiped at her face with a sleeve, "Wait, you have to finish the story!"

"I do _not_ ," Katsura reminded, invoking his paternity, "Maybe- _maybe_ when you're older. by many years, at that."

Hana frowned, slowly turning back to her homework as the sound of classical music crossed her mind. In the background, she heard the gentle clinging of dishes as her father rinsed out his mug, the two sounds causing a soothing air to cross her as her eyes followed the question she was to answer.

Katsura muttered aloud, to nobody in particular, "Honestly, the things your mother let her brother get away with; I wouldn't be shocked-"

"Why did you say pride?" Hana suddenly interrupted.

Her father looked at her from across the room, confused for a moment, "What do- Oh, Napoleon?"

Hana turned her head over her shoulder toward him, "You could argue he was proud during his first rule, but his second go-round, he was just trying to survive."

Katsura stared at her for a moment, surprised as he watched his daughter wipe a sleeve across her face again, "Well, uh, I mean that's certainly a viable idea. Certainly, England and Prussia were wasting no time in making sure he was subdued."

Hana nodded as she turned back toward her homework, slowly drawing out the characters that went alongside her thoughts. Katsura sighed, silently, as he smiled toward her. He knew it wasn't easy for her to deal with her mind sometimes, but between all her inabilities, he always knew there was a smart girl in there. He tried his best to help her concentrate, with different music or songs; sometimes something out of the blue, like the coffee maker's churning, would help bridge some gap in her thought process.

He carefully prepared another mug of tea, returning to the table with a steady gait, "Alright. See? I told you."

Hana rolled her eyes without him seeing, though she still allowed a tiny smile to appear on her face out of sight. Katsura passed the small living room, just noticing the television having been left on, gently placing the mug on the table before turning back the way he came, eying the coffee table before forming a quick lie in his head so long as his daughter was focused on doing her schoolwork.

"Okay, they're on a commercial or something, so the tv's going off. You know what I say about leaving electronics on."

Hana muttered back, mocking his serious voice, " _That power could be going to the war effort._ "

Katsura grinned, amusedly, as he reached down for the remote control, pausing as he stared at the television, curiously. It had been muted, but he could tell what was going on from the ticker at the bottom of the screen. "Korea Gaming Championship Invitational". The engineer's eyes narrowed intensely as the camera jumped to a line of people sitting at a long desk, their hands moving a mile a minute as they played, their eyes staring so intently at their screens.

Slowly, Katsura's thumb reached up the remote to unmute the television, the announcer shouting out excitedly, _"-THE MATCH! 'HYRULERS' ARE SEEKING THEIR FIFTEENTH CONSECUTIVE WIN AS THEY PROGRESS TOWARD THE 'QUARRYMEN'S POINT! I'VE NEVER SEEN-"_

Hana suddenly burst into the room, "Did she win?!"

"Who?" Katsura asked, curiously, as Hana skillfully ripped the remote away from him.

" !" she shouted, "I almost forgot! She's like a hometown hero from around here!"

The screen switched to a live view of the game being played between the two teams, though Katsura was far more intrigued by the skill and speed of the players themselves. Even watching the gameplay, he could tell just how many inputs were being made; the character's changing direction seemingly every millisecond as the player sought out victory.

 _"OOOOH! WHAT A MOVE BY ANH34!"_ shouted the announcer, _"THE 'QUARRYMEN' ARE BACK ON THEIR HEELS- OH MY GOODNESS! WHAT A MOVE BY THE NEWCOMER!"_

Hana squealed as the screen showed a girl with the fiercest look on her face, the gamer's severe face punctuated by two face-painted marks on either cheek, the camera panning out to show the comparably panicked faces of her teammates, "That's her! !"

Katsura's eyes slowly widened as he watched the flurry that took place atop this 's keyboard as her fingers burst from one key to another, her other hand even bolting away from the mouse and joining in the typing for just a brief moment before returning. His hand reached up to massage his chin, though it had the dual function of also keeping his jaw from dropping in wonderment.

 _"THE NEWCOMER…. ! WHAT A FLANK ON THE 'HYRULERS' END! THEY HAD THEM ON THE EDGE, BUT NOW- HOLD ON! ANH IS ON HER!"_

Hana rocked back and forth in her chair, excitedly, though Katsura understood very little as to what was going on. It seemed like such an overload of information to him, though as he watched, he could clearly tell who was winning the match, even as the announcer began to quiet down as the conclusion became imminent.

 _"OOOH! And without reinforcements, it looks like the newcomer is left out to dry! What a play, at the end, to try and force a draw, but the Quarrymen just didn't have enough left in the tank!"_

Hana fell back into the chair, disappointed, crossing her arms as she frowned, "Aw, man. Looks like she's out of team competition. She'll get 'em in singles, right dad?"

Katsura turned to her with shock, "Y-Yeah? I guess so. She's fast though, even I could see that- something bordering on 190 or 200 words per minute."

"Dad, duh, she wasn't typing _words_ ; she was doing inputs on the game!" Hana clarifies with a proud tone as though she were happy to finally be able to impart her father with some wisdom rather than the opposite.

"I know, but- Never mind," he father failed to bother, merely shrugging, "Okay, break over. C'mon; we'll go out for ice cream if you do well."

"Wha- Really?!"

Her father shrugged, "I've learned more than one thing that helps you study, and quite a few of them involve chocolate."

Reaching an arm out to grab hold of his daughter's shoulder as she dashed past him, knowing her immediate destination, Katsura reminded, " _After_ your schoolwork."

"Yeah, yeah; I know," Hana defeatedly replied with a frown.


	3. Parentage

Katsura stared into the dark liquid that shivered in his mug with every movement Hana made across the table from him, wondering silently to himself, replaying those ever-quickening hands over in his mind, again and again, still in awe over that player's movements. He occasionally bit his lip as a particular thought crossed his mind, though ultimately relinquishing such ridiculous ideas, returning his inattentive eyes back up toward his daughter every time he realized how flighty his attention became, though Hana was far more ensconced by the patrons of the tiny ice cream parlor, slumped in her booth with her cup of ice cream held up to cover her face to allow her eyes the ability to wander.

"Fifteen…" she quietly whispered to herself.

"Huh?" Katsura asked in astonishment, as if just realizing he might be on the ill-side of a discussion that had been going on without his knowledge.

Hana didn't reply, but she did take another bite of ice cream before her brow lowered once more, examining the dark faces across the small diner of a parlor, "You think we could try the other one next time?"

Her father's eyes fell drolly atop his daughter, "No. _I_ don't even frequent that place."

"But its got such a cool name! 'The Most Dangerous Bar on Earth'! Sounds like a-"

Katsura frowned, "First off, that's the subtitle; it's called 'Secret Breeze', and second, you- What?"

Hana had smirked at him intuitively, "I thought you said you'd hadn't been?"

Sighing, Katsura dropped his shoulders, " _Second_ , its reputation precedes it; it's not a half mile out from Gwangalli Beach. So no, we're not going."

His daughter frowned only momentarily, having gone into the discussion already aware of her father's response. Instead, she simply returned to her previous activity, whispering to herself once again as the bell atop the parlor door went jingling.

"Sixteen… Why is it so dangerous, anyway?"

Katsura's eyes rose up attentively, "Gwangalli? That's where the omnics come ashore."

A chill ran down Hana's spine. Omnics- the monstrous machines that had become the boogeymen of so many children's bedtime stories, with the only stipulation being that these monsters were far too real. Despite the many omnics that walked among humans, there were many more who wished to do harm to their creators, Hana knew.

"The bar overlooks the beach, so if you're lucky- and that's a disgusting term to use in this situation- you might catch an armada of omnics, crawling out from the Korean Strait, meeting the bravest men and women you'll ever meet, ready to repel them from killing us all," Katsura explained darkly, lowering his brow in reverence, "That's why I do what I do, though. Trying to save lives."

Slightly shaken, Hana slid further into her seat as her father looked on. Katsura slowly began to slip out his phone to check on any emails, unable to watch as Hana suddenly twitched at her neck in realization, plopping her cup onto the table before reaching into her own coat pocket, the tense air forcing her mind to recoil in slight worry. Such things often made her remember her mother.

"Oh, I forgot about mom."

She pulled a small picture from out from her thick coat, readying its stand before reaching out and placing it onto the table, smiling solemnly as she took a moment to admire her mother's face. Being on a slip of glossy paper behind glass didn't do it justice, Hana knew; her mother had a smile that immediately brightened a room. She remembered feeling warm just within its presence. Her mother truly was in contrast to her father; for all the help her father offered, Hana was readily aware that her father was busy, and any help that she was afforded was often to his detriment- she often figured she was more a hinderance to him. Her mother, however, it seemed so natural coming from her whenever Hana needed help growing up, as though it wasn't a question. Even now, the sight of that picture eased a lot of Hana's anxieties.

Katsura's eyes jumped up as he noticed Hana's arms retreating, leaving the small frame atop the table, her voice echoing quietly, "Sorry…"

"For what?"

Hana frowned sadly, "Being so weird…"

Katsura sighed, "You're not weird, sweetheart. Even if you were, everybody in Busan has their eyes glued to televisions, cell phones- nobody would notice anyway."

He gently sent a foot over beneath the table, tapping at his daughter's leg, "Why did you think _I_ chose to live here, hmm?"

Hana giggled silently before grasping her ice cream once again, staring at her mother's picture as she took another bite, this time smiling as the ice cream melted atop her tongue. Her counting of new arrivals to the parlor had stopped, leaving her wholly content with being beneath her mother's loving gaze, even if it were a picture. Katsura returned to his phone, writing out an email quickly enough in order to return his attention to his daughter, though she spoke up quick enough.

"What will happen if I can't graduate?"

"Hmm?" Katsura mumbled inquirously as he went on typing.

Hana's brow sunk, "Never mind."

Katsura's thumbs flew, darting from key to key before he finished with a sigh, placing his phone down before turning to his own cup of ice cream, his eyes narrowing suspiciously as the trails of melted vanilla coursed down its sides, "Well what happened here?!"

Poignantly enough, Hana grinned, "Well, you gotta eat it fast!"

Katsura grunted in disbelief as he took his spoon and dunked it into the soupy ice cream, "Well, I need to catch up then; here."

He reached over to offer his dripping spoon to Hana who immediately darted back into her booth, giggling, "No!"

"C'mon! I need help!" Katsura goaded as Hana quickly tried to keep from the dripping vanilla that threatened her coat.

"No!" she yelped again amidst her giggles, reaching up for only a moment before realizing such a thing was endangering her more, "Get it-! AH!"

Katsura chuckled before retreating, allowing his daughter to shake away the rest of her laughter as he took a bite, shaking his head, "Well it's not so good melted!"

"Then- Then you should've been paying attention!" Hana instructed, wiping away her tears.

Chuckling himself, Katsura quickly turned toward the bar to catch the owner of the parlor eying the two of them with a fierce glance, her index finger rising up to her lips to quiet them, leaving Katsura with a guilty frown, raising his hand in apology before returning to his daughter.

"Okay, no more fun and games apparently," Katsura noted, "It _is_ late, though, so-"

He paused, watching Hana staring at the picture of her mother, a lonely sort of frown managing to rest upon her face. Katsura's heart fell, sighing longingly as he sat his ice cream down.

"I'm sorry," he muttered, "I know you miss her."

Hana shrugged, "It's not your fault."

A quiet settled in, one set more in solemn silence rather than an awkward air, though Hana reached out first, "I do miss her though."

Katsura nodded, reaching to take hold of the picture frame and turn it more toward himself, nodding to himself, "Ah, you know when this was taken? Senior year of college. I wasn't a stalker or anything, but I had her friend take it for me; I was so, uh- I guess shy, but it was bit more than that; it was like a crippling shyness, I suppose. Her friend, I guess, misunderstood what I wanted, and after taking this, she straight up told your mom that I liked her. She even set up a date in her mind- some random place outside of town that I didn't even recognize. For _that_ night, even! I had to find a suit _and_ that place in, like, four hours!"

Katsura wrangled in his laughter, shaking his head, "I never knew why she'd said yes. I wish I could have asked her, but- I read something that asking that sort of this isn't becoming of men, so I just never did. I don't know. There's a lot of things I wish I could ask, now."

"Like what?" Hana asked.

Shrugging, her father answered, "Stuff about you, mostly. I don't know if you've noticed, but- I'm not the 'parenting' type. Your mom was fantastic, but- I kind of hate that you have to deal with _me_ instead of her."

"Wait, _I'm_ dealing with you?!" Hana questioned in wonderment, "I thought _you_ were dealing with me!"

Katsura chuckled, "My dear, I'm honored just to have such a wonderful daughter. Not once would I ever think of you as a burden. Sure I'm busy, but that's- Everything I do is because I want you to be happy, and if it means cleaning up this world, while also helping you with your schoolwork and getting three hours of sleep- Believe me, not once have I ever thought it wasn't worth it."

He lowered his head, his spoon easily sinking into his ice cream as he muttered quietly, "I've done my part in making this world a horrible place for you. It's about time I change that."

Hana watched her father's downtrodden face, a look she'd come to know rather well, though one she couldn't fully understand. If he wanted her mother there to help better understand his daughter, Hana would have liked her mother there to help her understand her father more. To help her be more of a help to her own father; a man so lost in his work, such complex and tiring work. The kind of work Hana knew she'd never be able to understand, much less help with.

"I'll be honest," Katsura suddenly spoke up, catching his daughter's attention as he lowered his head, "I'm so guarded, you know. Your mother was…different. She always wore her heart on her sleeve; I always thought the opposite made you stronger. I kept to myself, refused to allow anybody to gain any insight into myself that might come back to haunt me. But your mom- she was the strongest person I knew, probably because she was brave enough to put herself out there; her heart tempered and strengthened by weathering so many storms."

He shrugged, "Just another thing I think about often."

Hana's eyes wandered, just catching her father's sudden grin as he returned to his cup, "But that's just me being an old man, thinking about the past. The point is, I'm trying. really hard. I hope if I turn out to be a crappy father, you'll at least know that much."

"You're not crappy," Hana assured weakly, more because of her own insecurity than uncertainty.

Katsura smiled, "Most fathers don't uproot their daughters and move them clear over to a different country when their friends are what they need."

Frowning at his words, Hana's brow fell unamusedly, "You're making it sound like I _wouldn't_ have become a shut-in back home…or a bad student."

"You are who you are," Katsura grinned, "That's how it's supposed to be. If we were meant to be perfect, we'd be constructed and built in labs, thrown away at the slightest inconvenience and replaced by updated models. Besides, it may require a bit more tempering, but- You're so much like your mother in ways; you may become as strong as she was."

Such comparisons brought a warmth to Hana's heart, as if such things brought her closer to her mother in some ways. Her eyes shifted toward the picture frame, wondering how the strength her father described could have been within such a beautiful, care-free looking woman. Sinking back into her booth, Hana's eyes refused to leave her mother's as she took another bite of her ice cream, the warmth welling up in her heart seeming to melt the delicious taste of frozen chocolate all the quicker.


	4. Rising Star

Hana Song was nineteen, just in her third year of competitive play, when she was finally invited to Korea's gaming invitational, which saw competition from a myriad of different games, though Hana's forte was Starcraft. She blasted a sizeable hole through the online circuits, and after a few hometown, gaming shop tournaments, she began to make a name for herself, particularly due to her bulldoggish attitude when it came to chasing victory. A following arose initially, though its intentions weren't in the way of fandom, but given Song's penchant for 'all or nothing' victories, there were a few followers who were happy enough to imbibe in drinking games, taking shots every time she left her base open to attack while ensconced in taking the win.

Her brother had been a rather religious player when it came to gaming, particularly Starcraft, and from a young age, Hana recalled so many memories of sneaking a peek onto the family's study, watching in awe of her brother, even if she had no idea what was going on. Finally, after she'd matured enough, he invited her to give it a chance herself, and from then on her life was heavily focused on the great battles and wars that often populated the online Starcraft scene: 'Heaven's Last D', 'Missile Defense', and her favorite, 'Helms Deep', all of which helped her feel so much more connected to her brother, especially after he had died.

Now, in a sort of homage to her brother, she had made it to the big leagues, finding herself wandering along the blue LED-lit hallway of the large convention center where the invitational was held. She grumbled lowly to herself as she walked, having just been eliminated from group competition. She hadn't even wanted to compete in the bracket, yet the 'Quarrymen' were out a man, and in a desperate last-plea, they'd gone to Hana Song for help, or rather, D. va. Despite not wanting to compete in groups in the first place, was immensely competitive, and the loss still nagged at her, even as she cooled down in the back hallway.

Passing some folding tables of merchandise and memorabilia, Hana's lips contorted in frustration as she thought about the match, how she could have, somehow, won, despite her teammates being so much more inept compared to her. She shook her head, sighing as she realized that her face had been wearing her emotions, and she quickly hid away her grimace as a group of people turned the corner, coming toward her.

"Well, well, well," muttered the man leading the pack, "Look what the rat dragged in. I hope you're not too tired already to carry my trophy for me; there's going to be a few more before the competition's over."

Hana eyed him pithily, recognizing him as the lead man of the "Hyrulers", the team that had eliminated _her_ team just an hour ago, not stopping her stride as she retorted, "I guess it _would_ be too difficult for you with both of your men hanging off either side of you."

The young man, who went under the moniker ANH34, snickered with a dismissive shrug, turning toward one of his teammates or, more appropriately, cronies, "Listen to her go. Going right out of the competition, maybe."

His cohort sneered, throwing a rude gesture in 's direction, causing her to lower her head, angrily, "I can't wait to be the girl who beats _you_ for once."

He laughed, shaking his head with a roll of his eyes, "You're a pipsqueak _and_ crazy. Those guys back there probably _had_ to bring you onto their team; who knows what insane threats you dished out at them, tiny rat."

Behind , a man quickly rushed up behind her, trying to catch up to her as she retorted angrily, "I'm not nearly as small as your-"

"D. va !" cried the man behind her, laughing nervously as he wrapped his arms around her, beginning to pull her away as he lazily stared toward ANH's crew, "Haha, sorry about that! She gets a bit riled up after a loss; I'm sure no ill intent was meant!"

"Oh, I've no doubt it was meant," ANH growled, "She can talk all the shit, but if she can't back it up-"

His crony, Ghinja, sneered, "Nah man, backin' up might be all she's _good_ for."

ANH snickered as the two pounded fists, though immediately threw her arms out, trying to launch herself through her manager and friend, Dae-Hyen, to no avail, the man able to wrangle her in as he muttered critically under his breath, " _Not_ here, Hana. Save it for the floor."

D. va's teeth shone angrily as she regretfully relinquished her assault, leaving the Hyrulers to snicker amongst themselves as ANH turned to leave, rolling his eyes while waving for his cronies to follow along, much to 's hateful chagrin.

"What did I tell you about making enemies?! Do you understand how cutthroat this sport is?!" Dae-Hyen pleaded with a scornful glance toward Hana.

She shrugged, both in reply and also to pull away from his grasp, "He started it! I'm not about to crawl away from an asshole of his caliber."

Dae-Hyen groaned, shaking his head, "That "asshole" also has the means to kick you out of the tournament, _especially_ now, when you're so little known that nobody would bat an eye. I'm talking _disqualification_. If you're seeking out enemies, _please_ , choose _any_ body else."

Hana's voice grumbled under her breath as the two of them began walking along, Dae-Hyun taking a deep breath as his shoulders slumped in defeat, muttered, "I swear, Hana, sometimes you're just a hot head. I mean, I have no reason not to expect it by now, but geez."

"What's that s'posed to mean?" Hana asked defiantly, her teeth showing in a gritted frown.

Dae-Hyun retorted, "You know exactly what I mean! Hiding under your house for two days because your parents wanted your hamster put down after it was sick. Your brother's laptop, _my_ hoverboard!"

"Okay, alright," Hana sighed, running her open palms along her face, "You've gotta point…"

A gentle pause came across the two long enough, a silence between Dae-Hyun's calming breaths and Hana's furtive mumbling to herself as she repeated mantras to herself, for Dae-Hyun to speak up on a different topic, "How're you feeling?"

"Shitty."

"I told you," he replied indifferent, "Your style is better suited for singles matches. You know, for your manager, you certainly give my words incredibly little credence."

Hana turned toward him, "I told you, all I needed was for you to help me get into the scene. Well, here I am in the scene."

"Yes, one of the few girls who've actually done it," Dae-Hyun acknowledged, " _I_ know how good you are, but it's gonna scare a lot of people when _they_ are shown that. I guess in a sense, your stunt with working your way into groups might help lower the expectations from singles, though they're still gonna be tough."

"So you don't think I can do it?" Hana questioned.

Dae-Hyun grinned, sliding a thumb across the bridge of his nose, "On the contrary. I'm rather excited to see this world get turned upside down. Besides, we're talking sponsorships, endorsement deals- I might even come back from dinner with a binding contract. I'm seeing stars, Hana!"

His excitement brought a soft smirk to Hana's face, "More like dollar signs."

"C'mon; so what if I am? One of us has to," Dae-Hyun shrugged, "Otherwise you'd be sitting in gaming shops defeating the same randies every other weekend. That, and apparently making enemies."

Frowning, Hana shot back, "Hey, I don't mind making enemies with assholes."

"Clearly," Dae-Hyun rolled his eyes, "Let's go get something to eat, at least if we're done with vendettas. I saw a food truck outside and I don't need anything served cold, okay? I'll consider that spectacular loss as your training for the day, but you still need to do your exercises."

Hana stretched her fingers, tensing and pulling them into a fist before releasing them, repeating the process as she mused aloud, "Y'know what would really help work my fingers?"

"The only punch you need to be concerned with is the fruit kind if you're going to be so childish," Dae-Hyun sighed.

At his subdued joke, Hana grinned, running one hand atop the other, "Those wrist stretches really help, by the way."

"I hope so," Hyun sighed, nervously, "That was an expensive trip to the physical therapist. You wouldn't believe how many people still don't exercise; that's a major advantage in your column. Not that you need many of those; I've never seen anybody as fast as you are."

She winked up at him, "Not many people have been doing this since they were a kid, either. I had to be fast to kick my brother's ass!"

"True, he _was_ a perfectionist," Hyun acknowledged, "Still, you've got talent, which everybody here has in droves as well. But you've got me, too, and that means you've got the upper hand- literally, if you keep stretching. You've gotta be like the Rocky Balboa, just with your fingers."

Hana's brow fell curiously, turning her head down to examine her hand as she carefully attempted to emulate a staircase with her left hand upon which her other hand's fingers would run up, though she was quickly cut off by Dae-Hyun's ravaged voice, "Oh! Look, they're coming in with kimchi! Come on, we'd better get to that truck!"

Frowning at her fingered performance, Hana's eyes lifted just in time to catch Dae-Hyun whip around, clutching on to the fluttering mast that made up his hoodie and dash off toward the entryway of the convention center, his shoes squeaking along the waxen floors, leaving Hana with little work in the way of tracking him simply with her ears. She sighed, turning to stare over her shoulder for any final glimpse that might result in ANH being within her sights, but her hunger growing, she acquiesced, breathing deep as she slowly trudged off in Dae-Hyun's direction.

* * *

Her face scrunching up painfully, Hana released a muted squeal as she fought to keep her mouth shut, the searing spices flooding across her tongue as tears burst from her clenched eyes. She leaned forward, tapping her feet into the pavement below her feet as she twisted her body back and forth, shaking her head distastefully as the spicy kimchi stung her mouth, her lips, repeatedly.

"God damn, Hana!" Dae-Hyun exclaimed with surprise, yanking a napkin in her direction, "You had to buy the spiciest set they had?! I thought you hated spicy food!"

Unable to reply as a result of the peppery warfare in her mouth, Hana merely took the napkin to her eyes, drying them as she finally finished swallowing the vicious bite of kimchi, throwing open her mouth while hunching over, taking in deep breaths to try and cool her tongue. Dae-Hyun looked on disapprovingly, though with the concern of a childhood friend, quickly reaching for more napkins.

"Maybe let's not try that again?" Dae-Hyun instructed with an open air, shaking his head, "Not like you need all your faculties when you're competing. Oh no, playing in pain is _much_ better, said the liar. What got into you?"

Hana coughed, sliding the next napkin across her lips, "What, can't I enjoy eating what I want to?"

"Not when you have a manager," Dae-Hyun grumbled, reaching down to grab Hana's drink to offer her, "Look, I get paid to- Okay, I receive IOU's to make sure you're at peak performance, because I know this stuff. Who do you think was out and about following these sorts of competitions growing up? I _kinda_ know a few things, but even then, you don't need a physical therapist to tell you-"

"I know, I know," Hana nodded, finally tracking down relief, staring down at the single bite of her kimchi set, "Revenge has become a part of me…"

Dae-Hyun's brow dropped sardonically, rolling his eyes before returning to his own meal, "Okay, no more movie references- not until after the match tomorrow, anyway. You need to be focused."

Boxing up the spicy set, Hana reached for her normal fare, greatly enjoying the milder taste that she so preferred. The two childhood friends sat on a concrete bench outside the center, just within reach of the dim lighting that trailed in arcs below the food truck's awning, allowing Dae-Hyun to watch the patrons approach and stand in wait before waiting, watching curiously until returning to his own box kit of barbeque, taking a fork in his hand while Hana retained a pair of chopstick, ostensibly to help her dexterity.

While Dae-Hyun took an interest in the world surrounding them, Hana remained with her attention on her kimchi, her eyes narrowing sadly as she thought of the spiciness still tinged deep within her taste buds, conquering any and all flavor accompanying her new bites of foot, leaving her with little more than bitterness with each bite.

"My brother liked spicy foods," she spoke up quietly, almost to herself.

Dae-Hyun nodded with a grin as he poked at the fried asparagus that sat tucked in the corner of his box, "Yeah, I guess he did, huh? Wasn't he, like, a connoisseur of hot sauce? He'd pour junk on everything, like every meal was a challenge- Hang on, is that why you ordered that?!"

Hana shrugged, "Maybe."

Sighing, Dae-Hyun frowned, shifting atop the bench to better face his friend, "Look, have you any idea what your brother'd be doing if he were here? if he'd made it to the big leagues? He'd be flipping out; he'd be running around, probably ruining the cosplay he'd have the two of us make for him of some random-ass character."

Smirking in reply, Hana couldn't help but release a slight giggle, "Yeah, I guess."

"You're living his dream for him, alright? If you want to feel closer to him, you don't need to sear your tongue; you're already walking in his shoes, and as somebody who knew him just as well as you did, I'd say he'd be pretty freakin' proud of you," Dae-Hyun assured, leaning back to continue his meal, "Of course, he wouldn't be making enemies…"

"Hey, I think I'm doing pretty well!" Hana challenged suddenly, "Everybody needs a rival, you know? It only makes people better."

Dae-Hyun's lips curled uncertainly, " _Friendly_ rivalries, sure; but how can I be sure that, had I not shown up, you'd have been shown the doors?"

"That's why we make such a good team," Hana surmised easily, "I'm like a firecracker; you direct me and I take out whatever's in my way."

Chuckling with a bright laugh, Dae-Hyun shook his head, "You're more like a charging elephant. and god help me if I need to change your direction."

He felt a severely droll stare in his peripheral vision, only grinning as he continued eating, "Probably why I feel safe with you in the confines of a video game. No collateral damage."

"So little faith," Hana sighed, shaking her head.

Dae-Hyun laughed, "You _just_ admitted to being a hot head! and a literal one at that."

"When the pressure's on, that's my element. I can't afford to worry about who I'm antagonizing or annoying," Hana frowned, "Another reason why I hired you."

Sighing regretfully as he prepared his empty box for the trash can, Dae-Hyun pushed himself to his feet, "Well I can't be there for you all the time. You're gonna have to learn to watch your own back at times. If your brother were still alive, maybe he could take over when I'm not able to, but as it is-"

He dropped the barbeque kit into the trash, turning back toward Hana with a half-hearted frown, "Just make sure you're not blinding yourself to the exterior things. Being determined doesn't mean being stupid, too."

"I know that," Hana growled lightly in reply, crossing her arms.

"Then quit getting into feuds," Dae-Hyun reminded with a grin, returning to his seat, "Look, if it'll lift your spirits…"

Hana quizzically turned to watch him pull his phone from his pocket, his boyish chuckling accompanying him as he scrolled through the device, "And don't ever say I'm not a great manager. If you place in _this_ tournament, you punch your ticket to nationals."

"What?!"

Dae-Hyun smirked, turning his phone for Hana to catch sight of his email, "Yep, the big show. Think you could cut class for a weekend up in Seoul with the best names on the seaboard?"

"Hell yeah I can!" Hana replied energetically, jumping to her feet and leaving Dae-Hyun to skillfully grab her bod of food out of the air, "Holy crap, that's awesome! How'd you get me in?!"

Explaining shakily at having to react so instantly to the falling food, Dae-Hyun went on, "Hea- What was his name? Some guy dropped out, so I got in with a buddy of mine up north to get your name in first."

Hana instantly spun back toward her friend, slamming a fist into his waiting twin, "What, were you hoping to fire me up? 'cause you just did! Come on, we gotta practice!"

She sped toward the adjacent hotel that sat aside the convention center, much to Dae-Hyun worry as he jumped to his feet to follow, "Hey! Not until after your stretches!"

As he rushed after her, he could only think to himself sarcastically, "Not a hot-head my ass."

* * *

 ** _A/N: I apologize for the formatting of D. va's name. FF literally censors out any URL-like writing, and I'm not sure which country . va would be for, but they don't like it. It annoys me too, I know._**


	5. Desperation Time

Katsura walked quickly through the hallway that sat between the sea of partitioned-off cubicles that lined the hangar in some faux attempt at some office setting while also remaining close to the training area. While most of them housed workers who worked on more technical aspects of the project, such as spacial design of the AI architecture, most of the workers here were actual programmers who wrote the immensely astronomic code that went into the AIs themselves.

At the head of this collection of manpower, Mi-na T'an sat in her office just beside the training area, right in the shadow of the MEKA unit itself. She'd been wracking her brain, as well, for a solution to the main problem that stood in everybody's way- namely, the MEKA AIs becoming aware too fast, to the point of killing their pilots, their very bodies appearing to be considered a threat by the AIs themselves. Her fingers fiddled with a lone pen on her desk as her other hand typed arhythmically, the index finger of her free hand spinning the pen around in circles as she leaned forward far enough for her face to show the blueness of the monitor upon itself.

Katsura slid to a stop just outside her cubicle, catching her attention immediately as he slid in behind her, hand raised in a calming gesture, "This is going to sound crazy, but hear me out. I had a brainstorm last night."

Mi-na half-turned around in her chair, peering up at him with her eyes instead of making the effort to lift her head, "That seems to be par for the course these days. A dream idea can't be muslch worse than half of the stuff our waking minds have rattled off."

"It wasn't a dream," Katsura groaned, waving his hand dismissively, "What if we went with what Jeong suggested the other month; have the MEKAs AI linked up into the cloud."

Mi-na immediately shook her head defiantly, "That's a good way to get _both_ pilot and machine killed. If there's a single hint of lag time, your MEKA will get trounced by an omnic. Those milliseconds I have nightmares about? They matter."

"I know, I know," Katsura stammered, impulsively, before leaning forward toward her, "My daughter and I were watching a gaming thing. One of the competitors- her hands- I've never seen a person type that quickly and manage to handle peripherals. I couldn't even see her hands sometimes if the video feed's quality dipped slightly."

"Your point being? You better not be heading where I think you are," Mi-na monotonously wondered, unimpressed.

Katsura quickly looked outside the cubicle to check if anybody was nearby before explaining, "This entire time, I've wanted pilots in there simply to keep the MEKAs in check. What if, instead, the pilots were in there to work in tandem with them?"

Mi-na's eyes narrowed with critique, "Do you realize how fast-"

"I think this one girl could do it!" Katsura pleaded, "And if _she_ can, who knows how many of these guys can move that fast? If they can learn how to program on the fly like that- we could make it more simplistic that way- then the lag time will hinder the AI without slowing it down its processing time, with the pilots making up those milliseconds while inside the MEKA."

He quickly reached for the pen, as well as a small stack of sticky notes, writing something as Mi-na rolled her eyes, "Still, in the heat of battle, they won't be able to-"

"Guess the number I just wrote," Katsura challenged, holding the notes against his chest.

Mi-na stared at him, still unimpressed, as he went on, "I went back and watched some of the recordings. Some of those games are just as intense, contextually. Now, guess what this one girl… Deeva, was it? Guess her actions per minute."

As if not wanting to be wrong, Mi-na groaned as she turned back toward her monitor, "Look, if you want to try something new, then you'll have to take it up with Jeo-"

"Thirty-three thousand."

Mi-na paused for a moment, mulling Katsura's words in her head as she slowly spun her chair back around, seeing the yellow pad that held the number '33,642' on it. She almost felt a chill down her spine as she sat there, finally raising her head to see the grinning face of her director.

"I think we've got something here," he surmised, turning his head away toward the MEKA, "If they can't program, we work around that. It will give the machines less responsibility; who knows, maybe that will take pressure off the AIs. But I'm not letting any of these MEKAs walk out of here without a pilot. I'd rather the world burn, now, than have these machines running roughshod and dragging it out. This might be the solution we've needed."

Mi-na sighed, shaking her head slightly as she returned to her monitor, "You're crazy."

Katsura's eyes remained steadfast as he turned his eyes upward watching the lifeless, blue machine sitting just yards away from him, his ear perking up as Mi-na spoke up again, "I _like_ crazy."

A smirk spread wide across the director's face as he returned his attention to his lead programmer, "Alright, I'll get with Jeong about recruiting some of those kids. Their tournament ends in two days, so that might be the earliest I can convince them, but in the meantime, I want everyone making the MEKAs as user-friendly as possible; I want virtual reality displays, everything."

"Yes, sir," Mi-na nodded, seriously, as she began to type with both hands, her mechanical keyboard clacking up a storm, smirking mischievously, "Shall I get cup holders installed?"

Her superior replied in kind, "Perhaps that's _too_ user-friendly. Let's stick with friendly, yet practical."

"Quit quoting my profile," Mi-na warned with a warm tone, earning her a chuckle from her director.

Peering back over toward his giant creation, Katsura allowed his mind to float off into memory as he glanced, the melancholy in his voice pouring out mellifluously as he spoke, quietly, to himself, "Please. let it work."

* * *

Almost as if in secret, Katsura gently pushed open his office door, sliding on in underneath Jeong's booming voice, his handler's hand gripped tightly around his cell phone as he shouted angrily mid-conversation, "-and so on! If they wanna cut the bullshit, have _them_ put their own soldiers on the front lines to die!"

Turning with a zealous glare once he noticed Sugita's arrival, Jeong pointed at the newspaper atop the director's desk as he went on angrily, "Those bastards have _no_ right to talk when they've done _less than nothing_ up until now! and even then, you think they'll help tomorrow?! Fuck no!"

Katsura's spine chilled, unsure as to what the man behind him might be referring to, though it was made clear enough once he approached his desk, spinning the newspaper around for him to read, his lips mouthing silently as he read.

"Overwatch Ecologist Calls Korea's Omnic Repelling Program "Menace to the Planet," Katsura mumbled to himself, his brow lowering at the gained context toward Jeong's conversation, reading on silently, "…Zhou's inspection of the scene of the heaviest omnic unrest, Gwangalli Beach, yielded less than favorable results for the country. Citing the rampant washing away of mechanical biproduct from the beach, an Overwatch spokesperson reiterated the organization's commitment to a 'World After the Crisis', saying the accumulated electronic waste in the off-shore waters would lead to "dangers greater than those posed by the omnics themselves". Korea's government declined to be asked about-"

"God _damn_!" Jeong yelled out furiously, slamming a foot into the wall, jerking Katsura's attention away from the newspaper, "Tell those bastards they'll lose far more than Korea if they continue twiddling their thumbs and not helping! _I'll_ rip Adawe's heart out if it comes to that!"

Gripping his phone as tight as he could, Jeong raised his hand and launched the phone into the floor below, shattering its screen and sending its battery flying across the room, narrowly averting Katsura's body. The handler paced back and forth for a moment, attempting to quell his anger in vain, before turning his attention toward Katsura, pointing a finger toward him.

"I fucking told you! I fuckin'- You saw how Overwatch sat on the sidelines while Australia went to fucking shit!" Jeong challenged heatedly, his hand clenching into a fist, "Just you fuckin' watch; they'll let Korea turn to dust before they do anything- there're people _dying_ on that beach, every day! and all they can _fucking_ see is the dead scraps of metallic monsters eroding away atop the beach! They don't- They don't give a shit about the- the-"

Jeong raised an arm to cover his face, burying his emotions in the crick of his elbow as he turned away, leaning into the wall as his body shook, trembling, desperately attempting to keep his emotions in check, all the while his tears breaking through only to stain his face. Katsura lowered his head apologetically, not sure what to do as Jeong slowly slid down the wall, collapsing into a seated position as his head shook slowly against his arm.

"They didn't- They couldn't have cared less about my boy," he muttered, his tone tinged with anguish.

His brow saddened, Katsura only stood there, unsure of himself as well as the situation, quietly offering the only thing he could conjure up, "I'm sorry. Need anything?"

Jeong initially shook his head, though soon after, he spoke up, "Got a tissue? Fuck sake; I thought I was done shedding tears for my son."

"I don't think you ever will," Katsura offered solemnly, grabbing a box of tissue from his drawer and walking it toward Jeong, "How's he doing?"

Shaking his head as his arm fell away to accept the tissues, Jeong answered resolutely, "He, uh- He's fine, just- I mean, he's as fine as you can be in a coma, I suppose."

Katsura stepped away unsurely, crossing his arms as Jeong chuckled through his reeling tears, "My country being on guard, at war, for years; when this whole thing started, I figured it'd last a month or so. Years later, I never would have guessed this would become our new normal. Then my son takes a bullet to the head and goes out, cold… I'm getting to _that_ point, you know; I don't want to accept this as the new normal for my son, seeing him laying there, unable to live his life."

A sniffle resonated throughout the small office as Jeong tossed the box away from him as he wiped away his tears, "And I sure as hell don't want _this_ becoming a new normal. God knows I don't need people running around this place thinking I'm soft."

Katsura grinned, retrieving the thin box Jeong had disposed of, "They brought in the military retriever dogs that one time- I think the illusion's been shattered already."

"Fuck," Jeong replied breathlessly as he smirked, shaking his head before pushing himself to his feet, "I gotta beat somebody up to reestablish dominance, maybe. You caught the paper, right?"

Sighing, Katsura nodded, "Yeah, that Overwatch crap."

"Apparently, they sent in some inspector 'n said we shouldn't be killing omnics and allowing their remains to wash back into the ocean," Jeong shrugged, "Apparently they missed the part where, as soon as we step foot on the beach, more and more of 'em saunter up to attack us. I told Tae-Yun to basically tell 'em to go fuck themselves unless they want to risk their own lives. I'm, and pretty much everybody in the military, aren't about to waste more lives than we've allowed so far. Enlistment's already gone to shit."

Katsura nodded with a sigh, knowing the death rate of his projects were one of the causes of the waning numbers of people joining the military. His activities had been popular fodder since his initial immigration to Korea, and with each death, the media gradually increased their scrutiny. He recalled the headline the day before, "deathtraps". He squirmed.

Jeong groaned defeatedly, his emotions having drained him already, and made his way to his chair across from Katsura's desk, "I need a drink."

He spoke with effort as he leaned forward to hunt for his bottle of scotch, "Another day, another dollar. What'cha got, K? Any new innovations in that mind of yours?"

Katsura bit his lip in thought, considering how he wanted to angle this while Jeong rummaged through the small foldable table he'd set up his first day here to keep his stuff, and scotch, in order. The director lowered his head, lips sinking inward, his eyes closed in deepening thought before considering simply telling the man outright. After years of failure, what was another crazy idea?

"I, uh-" he began, uncertainly, "I was watching something last night with my daughter."

Jeong chuckled, "This won't end with you training your daughter up to be a pilot, will it?"

"No," Katsura replied with a droll tone, clearing his throat, "There was a competition on television. A gaming competition."

"Fuuuck," Jeong's voice trailed exhaustively, "I _am_ gonna need a drink…"

Katsura pressed on, "Okay, look, I timed them. Their APM is astound-"

"It's one thing to put a _soldier_ in those things, Sugita," Jeong warned gravely, the use of Katsura's last name demonstrating his seriousness, "You're _not_ about to stick a civilian in there. Forget the media _crucifying_ you, General Park would yank your balls off and feed 'em to you. It isn't happening."

Near pleading already, Katsura crossed his arms, "Jeong, I'm not committing to anything, just- I only want to test this out. If there's something, _anything_ , there, we can put in soldiers- train _them_ up, but- Jeong, there's just _too much_ there; I saw them! This one girl, her APM was insane- Look!"

He shoved his hand into his pocket to retrieve the sticky note, showing it to his handler, "33,000 APM. That's _insane_. One of our biggest issues is correcting the AI code in real-time, right? and I'd venture some of these people already know something about coding. I think they could do it. Just- We bring them in, just for testing; if it works, we'll get some bright military personnel in to learn."

The _pop_ breaking from the opening of Jeong's bottle of scotch brought the conversation to a stand-still as the handler shut his eyes, simply swigging from the bottle before gasping for fresh air with a hearty breath, his stare zeroing in on Katsura before his voice rumbled, "If I hadn't already watched the deaths of fifteen soldiers with my own eyes, I'd shut this idea down in a second. As it stands-… we're pretty fucking desperate. and if Overwatch is gonna be on our asses…"

Feeling no sense of victory given the topic, Katsura remained steadfast as Jeong mumbled along, "Look, if you're going to do this, do it right. Paperwork, insurance, everything. If we can spin this into a public relations thing, at the very least, when these kids give their interviews- _maybe_ we can get some good publicity. But I don't want _anything_ to go wrong, understand?"

Katsura nodded.

"We're in the shit already," Jeong noted, "So what, how're you gonna do this? Just go up and ask them if they're ready to put their lives in danger?"

Shrugging, Katsura answered, "They're competitors. I'll appeal to their sense of competition. Get a bunch of them- we get a large sample size, and they feel more prepared to compete against one another. Mi-na's already working on it."

A steady hand reached up to stroke Jeong's chin as the man frowned, "What've we got to lose?"

"A whole lot of nothing at this point," Katsura shrugged.

Jeong chuckled, shaking his head, You've a daughter; don't sell yourself short. You have something else that none of us have, too."

Katsura eyed him quizzically, watching the man silently chuckle, his chest bouncing irrhythmically as such.

"You've a country to go back to if Korea burns to the ground," Jeong noted plainly.

Shrugging, Katsura frowned, lowering his head reverently, "That scotch must be rather potent if you honestly believe Japan will take me back. This country took me, and my daughter, in when the world saw me as a criminal who set loose these murdering robots. For such faith, I'd give my own life for this country should I ever need to."

Jeong muttered in reply, "So long as you're our last hope, I do pray such a thing never comes to pass. Now get your glass and take a drink."

Groaning, having never been one for alcohol, Katsura rolled his eyes, immediately acquiescing after such heartfelt words from his handler. Stepping forward and grabbing his ornate-looking glass and reaching it out for Jeong to pour into, the two men instinctively rose both into the air.

"To the MEKA program," Jeong spoke up, "May it come to fruition."

Katsura bit his tongue unsurely as the two clang their glasses together in cheers.


	6. Ebb and Flow

Dae-hyun hopped up into the air, trying to catch sight of Hana through the massive crowd that had packed itself into the convention center, cheering loudly, whooping and hollering out exclamatory verbiage in favor of each of their favorite gamers. The singles bracket was about to begin, with the three pairings deemed the most exciting to be played on stage while the rest of the matches occurred in the next room. Dae-hyun wasn't sure if Hana had made it, having left her in the backroom to prepare in order to make his own way out here, just in case. She was going up against a notable-enough opponent, Seevibomb, but that didn't mean much if the tournament proprietors thought D. va was going to be an easy win for him.

Charging through the crowd in order to get a better look, Dae-hyun squeeze through bodies, this final day of competition bringing in so many more people than the days prior. He turned his shoulders, ducking through gaps, finally losing his footing and falling to the ground with a groan, his way back up to his feet proving to be a much more sizeable task with the crowd.

"Dude, you'd better watch it!" came a voice from above, Dae-hyun feeling a hand around his arm to help him up, "These people aren't above trampling people, you- Hyun?!"

Surprised, Dae-hyun shot his eyes up to catch the face of his old friend, Ryon, helping steady him with a boisterous greeting, "Well how the hell are ya?!"

Dae-hyun took a moment to ease his surprise, answering, "O-Oh, I'm fine. Just got tripped up on a foot or something."

"Looked like it," Ryon nodded, "What're you doing here? I never thought you'd be much of a gamer."

Shrugging, Dae-hyun turned attentively toward the stage, "I'm not, normally. I'm managing one of the competitors, though, so I'm-"

"A manager? Dude!" Ryon shouted out aloud, "I'm a manager t-! Well, I'm in a group of competitive gamers, so I'm a pseudo-manager, but dude! Who're you with? Some big name?"

He sent a playful jab into Dae-hyun's arm, "It's gotta be some amateur, huh?"

Dae-hyun raised a hand to cover his cough, "Uh, actually I'm representing D. va."

"D. va?!" Ryon exclaimed in shock, "The Tremendously Terrible Tactician?"

Another playful jab, "Dude, no wonder if _you're_ her manager, am I right? Ha ha!"

Groaning, Dae-hyun asked, "Is it that bad..?"

"I mean, it's not _bad_ ," Ryon confirmed weakly, "Y'know, she's just got that reckless abandon thing. That'll work with amateur players, maybe even some middle-of-the-pack ones, but experienced players- the kind she'll face here- you've gotta be smarter about your resources. You need to be able to think; D. va just seems to play on emotion, which _is_ useful, but, y'know, you gotta temper that. She's still trending pretty well in the tier list though, and being the only real big name in Busan, she's got a following. Not terrible for a manager, eh?"

Dae-hyun sighed, "I mean, I've tried telling her all that, but she-"

"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! THE FOLLOWING MATCHES WILL BE PLAYED ON STAGE!"

The crowd erupted, forcing Dae-hyun to yell out his reply to Ryon, "She won't listen! It ain't too bad for notoriety sake! but she isn't interested in sponsorships or anything!"

Ryon shrugged, "That's the dream! Well, you might have to convince her! There's a shady-ass dude I'm hearing about, trolling different gamers and trying to recruit them for some secret competition! Full-on benefits, I'm hearing! If that ain't a sponsorship, I don't know-"

"D. VA VS. SEEVIBOMB!"

Dae-hyun felt a chill rush through him as his head whipped around toward the stage, his wide eyes zeroing in on the massive screen that showed Hana stepping up onto the stage, heading toward a desktop nearby. Ryon began hopping up and down, sending his arms wrapped around Dae-hyun and shaking him as a result.

"DUDE!" he shouted excitedly.

Still lost in the sheer surprise of it all, Dae-hyun had nothing to say as his body swayed back and forth in Ryon's clutches, his friend finally stopping as he asked with confusion, "What's with the face paint?"

Dae-hyun groaned, "She get's 'determined face' when she plays, so I figured it'd help with her overall persona, I guess. I dunno- how was I supposed to know she'd be in front of this many people?"

"Well the crowd's loving it!" Ryon proclaimed, surely enough catching the overall atmosphere as the crowd went wild, sparse chanting of "D. va! D. va!" being caught by the both of them.

"THE BRACKET BEGINS… NOW!"

Just like that, the three matches on stage began, each broadcast onto one of the three massive screens above the contestants, Dae-hyun's eyes beginning to sear as they hadn't blinked in a while, too focused on D. va's movements.

"Seevibomb's a pretty good competitor," Ryon noted, "He scouts pretty damn well, too. If she wants a hand up, she'd do the opposite of what he's expected."

Dae-hyun frowned, "Uh, yeah, I don't know if that'll be the case…"

"What, you didn't scout anybody out for her?" Ryon asked with surprise, suddenly bursting out in laughter before patting Dae-hyun's shoulder, "Maan, you really are in over your head, huh?"

Shame welling up from within Dae-hyun's gut, he simply crossed his arms as his brow fell into a worrisome expression, biting his lip as he watched D. va's screen. Almost like clockwork, she went along as she normally did, almost as though she were scripted to do so- even Dae-hyun, who hadn't an iota of knowledge of Starcraft, recognized her movements and strategy, simply due to how often he'd seen the same order of operations.

It didn't take long at all for D. va to begin building up her forces for her attack, leaving Dae-hyun's eyes to jump toward her opponent's screen, Seevibomb quickly amassing his defense as though in premonition. The script went the same way- D. va would attack too early, which nothing in the way of defense, and after losing her units, would be wide open for a decisive counter attack. Dae-hyun frowned, though his eyes trailed down toward the stage, catching the look on D. va's face. While it certainly was one of determination, it wasn't the same fierce sort of look she'd had the day before when she was fighting a losing team battle. It was almost a calculated sort of determination, catching Dae-hyun off-guard.

"Uh oh, there she goes!" Ryon commentated, pointing to the screen, "See? That's what I mean- nobody's home. Seev's gonna suck her into his defense 'n once her attack is diminished, he's gonna go right in for the kill."

Dae-hyun's worry gradually began to quell as Hana's eyes narrowed, her roving band of units quickly scurrying across the screen, closing the fog of war between the two's bases. Her fingers skittered along the keyboard furiously, Dae-hyun's jaw dropping as he realized what she was up to.

"Seev's pretty good at luring people into spreading out their attack- I mean, he can do sooo much with so little. Y'know, he has so many little things, you forget to focus and end up wearing thin- you kinda defeat yourself," Ryon shrugged with a sigh, "Hashtag Protoss Life, huh?"

Dae-hyun noted, "No, look; she's getting everything macro'd up. Organizing everything into groups."

His own brow curling inquisitively, Ryon mused, "That's an old strat, like from the original game when you only could control a certain number of units at once. How long's she been playing?"

"As long as I've known her," Dae-hyun replied cautiously, "And that was when we were kids."

Nodding knowingly, Ryon's eyes tensed as D. va managed to rush straight into Seevibomb's defensive trap, his skillful position allowing him to bring in units to collapse in around Hana's forces. Instead of growing more panicked, however, D. va's face curled mischievously. Her forces started out in chaos, attacking whatever, though Dae-hyun realized quickly enough that such plot was exactly her plan. Seevibomb's face softened in relaxation, merely bathing in the chaos, which was sure to ensure his victory, however, he immediately tended up, flying g forward, closing in on the monitor as a sweat began to form upon his brow.

D. va's fingers scurried wildly along the keyboard, commanding macros like armies, turning various collections of her units to focus in on key parts of his defense, beginning with a swift attack upon the main pylons to eradicate his photon cannons. Seevibomb began to panic, realizing too late that D. va's chaotic assault was, in reality, anything but, quickly diverting whatever he could, though it was too late. D. va burst through his defenses, splitting her forces up to force her opponent to choose whether to split up as well, or leave a roving band to attack.

"AND D. VA BREAKS THROUGH!" came the announcer's speaker, Dae-hyun just now realizing he'd been too deep in breathless tension to realize anything was being said, "SEEVIBOMB TAKES OFF TOWARD HIS BASE! OH MY GOODNESS!"

But it was too late. Having focused on his single defense, Seevibomb had nothing left. For as scripted as D. va's strategy might have been, she had managed to flip the script entirely, now assaulting her opponents Nexus, her forces now with backup incoming to assist, surrounding Seev's only army.

"AAAAND TIME! THERE IT GOOOES!"

The crowd erupted as D. va threw her hands in the air in triumph, jumping onto her chair and pumping a fist into the air before pointing toward the crowd as they cried out in cheers. Dae-hyun was left motionless, eyes wide, still in shock that she had won against a professional.

"DEEEEE VAAAAA! THE CROWD IS WILD!"

Ryon slammed an open palm into Dae-hyun's back, hard enough that it nearly flew him forward, "She did it, dude! Goddamn that was a thrilling match!"

Dae-hyun remained in awe, watching Hana through the silhouettes of arms that separated his view from the stage, her body hopping up and down happily as Seev fled, obviously not used to losing.

Cloud nine was in her very grasp, her manager thought to himself.

* * *

Hana angrily slammed the side of her foot against the outside wall of the convention center, her teeth showing mightily in gritted fury as she waved an arm in the air as though in a elbowed strike, "That freakin'-! ARGH!"

Following behind with his hands stuffed in his pockets, Dae-hyun sighed, shaking his buried head, "That's how it goes sometimes."

"I was THIS close!" Hana shouted, showing her thumb and forefinger touching at the tip, "Instead I'm freakin' one 'n done! UGH! Stupid KimbrianEra and that _stupid_ line of lurkers!"

Another swift kick into the wall forced Dae-hyun to react promptly, "Okay, kicking shit isn't going to help, alright? At least you're still in the loser's bracket- it's not like you're-"

"I haven't trained for years just to get third-best!" Hana reminded heatedly, "My brother would've been just as pissed off! He'd have slapped my arm and said 'You've gotta do better! Nothing will be handed to you!' or whatever."

Dae-hyun challenged, "He'd have been proud of you all the-"

"No he wouldn't have!" Hana cried, quickly crossing her arms as she lowered her head, "He wouldn't've…"

Silently, Dae-hyun sighed, turning his lips distastefully at the situation he was currently ensconced in. As her manager, he figured it was time to manage, so he rather nervously approached Hana, not knowing how she'd react, placing his hands on her shoulders with a firm grip.

"Look, Hana, we weren't even supposed to be here. _You_ weren't supposed to be here. You weren't even supposed to win at all, right?" Dae-hyun reminded calmly, "You should be proud that, in your first pro tournament, you beat anybody; that's a massive step forward! Next time, you'll-"

"How do you even know there'll be a next time?" Hana asked, more in challenge than curiosity, "My brother always told me growing up that I would _always_ be at a disadvantage because I was a girl. That I would _always_ be looked down upon because of it, and that I would _always_ be seen as a sideshow at these things. He spent so much time training me, raising me to be better, just so I could show everybody up- yet here I am, getting the floor mopped with my fucking face!"

Dae-hyun felt a subtle tug at his heart, just now realizing how personal this endeavor was for her, though he couldn't resign from the situation, he felt, "Look, Hana, I knew your brother too. Quite well. In fact, in some instances, _too_ well, but- You need to understand that even the best lose sometimes; nobody gets to the top that easily. I'll admit, it'll be difficult for you- but those cheers when you won your first pro-match- those weren't people just shouting meaninglessly. They were cheering for _you_ , and every single one of them knew, right then, that they were watching a future champion."

He sighed, pulling his arms away, "You've gotta take the lows with the highs. That's just how it is. Now, let's go get some ice cream- that always helps everything. Your next match isn't for three hours, so we've got time."

Begrudgingly, Hana silently acquiesced, walking behind Dae-hyun as he turned to walk off toward the nearby food truck, still with her head down as her friend sighed, taking in a deep breath, "Man, that was a rush though- that win. You even had _me_ hanging on my every breath! Did you know you were-?"

He turned to catch Hana still in a dreary state, frowning as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders, "Come on, it'll be fine."

"I know," Hana grumbled, "I just- It hurts."

Dae-hyun nodded, rubbing his hand up and down her arm, "I know it does. All it takes is one win to feel like a million bucks, whether you're 1-1 or 3-10."

"Or 1-52," Hana drolly noted, earning a rueful glance from her manager.

"Okay, enough of that," Dae-hyun clarified, "Now, _I'm_ your manager, and it's my job to manage you. I'm allocating only so much time to you feeling angry and sorry for yourself before it's time to get back on track. Ice cream, and then we're focusing on your next match, alright? so you'd better get your game face on soon."

Hana relinquished a groan, "Fine, fine… I think I lost my game face when Kimbrian was mopping the floor with it."

Dae-hyun only replied with a stare, leading Hana to reply sarcastically, "I take losing _very_ well, if you haven't noticed."

"You don't say," Dae-hyun sighed, "I still don't know how you pack all that frustration into such a tiny body."

Hana quickly threw a punch toward him, though it was slow enough that Dae-hyun was able to jump away, chuckling as he continued, "Hey, you can only beat me in the gaming realm- I'm the all-time champion of beating you in wrestling, remember."

"Yeah, only 'cause I let you," Hana replied with a teasing sort of air, "If you weren't in charge of financing this ice cream, I'd challenge you right here, right now."

Dae-hyun's face spun in confusion, "W-Wait, I'm in charge of what now?"

"You're the manager," Hana shot back with a wry grin.

Rolling his eyes, Dae-hyun retorted, "Only 'cause you go out and buy every cute little thing they have at the stalls! When we went to Incheon for that school trip, you had me carrying back god-knows how much junk."

"Not _junk_ ," Hana reminded, "Bunnies soothe the soul."

"They also soothe your wallet," Dae-hyun frowned as the two stepped into the queue line for the food truck, slipping a hand into his pocket to pull out two wallets, "I'll make sure the bank of Hana Song pays her way, thank you very much."

Hana's lips curled as she turned away, suddenly curling his brow as well at a man strolling down the sidewalk toward the food truck, a man who appeared much too old to be attending a gaming convention. She sent an elbow against Dae-hyun's side, catching his attention, as she spoke up in inquiry.

"Who's that?" she wondered aloud, "He doesn't look like he's from here."

Dae-hyun replied drolly, "From Seoul or this continent? He looks Japanese."

"Okay, Mr. Profiler; he's also in a suit at a gaming competition," Hana scoffed, returning a critiquing glance toward the man, "What's he here for, I wonder…"

Her friend shrugged as he returned the wallets to his pocket after forking out enough cash for the two of them, his attention drawn away as he went on absently, "Probably just a- Oh, Ryon mentioned him during your match, at least, I think he did. Some guy going around recruiting gamers for-"

Dae-hyun suddenly went silent, wondering if he should be revealing this information to Hana to begin with, suddenly backpedaling, "I don't know, it was pretty loud in there- I didn't get much-"

"What?! What's he recruiting for?!" Hana pestered suddenly, turning excitedly toward Dae-hyun with bright eyes, "C'mon, tell me!"

He sighed, "Nothing! He's just some vagabond or something; don't worry-"

"Is it some super-secret competition?" Hana confirmed for herself, excitedly, "Can I kick butt in it?!"

"Hana," Dae-hyun warned with a deepening voice, "Don't let this be the hoverboard all over again. Just _drop it_ and focus on-"

"Excuse me?"

Hana whipped around expectantly as Dae-hyun shut his eyes in resignation, sighing to himself as his head fell, leaving his friend to reply for the two of them, "Yessir?!"

The man recoiled in surprise by Hana's immediate reaction, though quickly recovered, clearing his throat into his fist for a brief moment before speaking, "My name is Katsura Sugita. I'm looking for some gaming enthusiast who might be interested in a project I'm overseeing at the behest of the Korean government."

"Oh, here we go," Dae-hyun sighed, "Look, we're not interested in your little 'government' project, sir; we're just-"

"Who all have you recruited?" Hana interrupted with a conniving voice, her face turning in determination, "ANH? KimbrianEra?"

Dae-hyun ran a hand along his face as Katsura pondered, his lips curling inward unsurely as he pulled out his phone, "Uhh… I believe so, but let me…"

"I'm in!" Hana exclaimed, Dae-hyun throwing his stare toward her with a dropped jaw.

"You're kidding!" Dae-hyun retorted with a start, grabbing ahold of her shoulder and pulling her backward, "Huddle. Now."

Hana frowned angrily, though she still went along with the instruction, the two stepping away as Dae-hyun pleaded, "Hana! You can't just run off on some crazy thing! You don't even know him!"

"I have a chance to get back at that jerk!"

Dae-hyun fired back, "And you also will at the next tournament!"

"If I even make it," Hana grumbled, earning her a frown from her manager.

"Now's _not_ the time to be putting yourself down, Hana," Dae-hyun pointed out, "Look, I know you too well. I know you're thinking of nothing else but showing those guys up, but you have to think about yourself for once."

He looked off into the distance, collecting his thoughts for a brief moment, taking in a deep breath, "We're a team. We have been since your brother died. When you decided to do this, you came to me to be your manager for a reason- you knew you could trust me, and because I'm ice while you're fire. I'm invoking that clause."

"But-!"

"Hana," Dae-hyun interrupted gravely, "You put me on your back up there when you won that match. _You_ carried the team. If you just recklessly go on and on- Who's gonna have _your_ back? Who's gonna carry _you_ when that time comes?"

At such heartfelt words, Hana's face fell reluctantly, biting her lip in silent recognition, thinking over her friend's words. What he said was true, she knew. At the same time, however, that indignant flame of vengeance sat unquelled within her, seeking the slightest chance to burn alight, ready to prove, not only her own worth, but her brother's. Prove that his training, his spirit, coursing through her heart and soul, was up for any task that might come her way.

A cough interrupted the two of them, Katsura clearing his throat as he approached, respectfully, "I, uh, don't need an answer this instant. Here's my card; if you want to know more, I'm a phone call away, or hey, I'm stationed in Busan, you two can come for a tour."

Dae-hyun scowled as Hana swiped the business card out from the man's grasp, "What, not invoking some conscription clause included in our citizenship?"

Katsura grinned, "Only when I'm in a bad enough mood. I'm open to any and all questions."

"Here's one for you," Dae-hyun challenged, "How crazy do you think I am as a manager to let her anywhere near your secret little project of yours?"

* * *

"Hana Song?" Katsura spoke up, his strides taking him down the long line of gaming candidates, lined up within his MEKA warehouse.

"Present," came Hana's determined voice.

Katsura nodded, returning his attention to his clipboard, "And, Crazy? Is there a Crazy here?"

The line of bodies turned, murmuring amongst themselves, with only Hana looking quizzically over her shoulder toward Dae-hyun, his face buried in his hands as he sat in a chair by Katsura's office door, huddled over himself. Slowly, he raised a hand to denote his presence, earning him a good-hearted chuckle from Katsura as he returned to his clipboard.

"Excellent," he noted quietly, turning his attention to the line before him, "Now, let's get orientation started."


	7. Initial Testing

Hana dipped her head forward, looking down the line of bodies who were all equally as curious as her, turning the opposite way to find much the same. Still unsure exactly what they were all there, they all recognized one another for the most part, though Katsura had obviously done little research and had simply recruited any gamer he found, including a handful who hadn't even been involved in the competition and were unknown to everybody present. Hana returned to her upright position, catching a snicker down the line to her right, turning slowly with inquisitive eyes.

"They even got the Rat? C'mon, what kind of shit is this?" came the voice of ANH, "I didn't know I'd be joinin' the circus."

A tepid assortment of laughs emerged from the line, leaving Hana with a fierce look on her face, "You _would_ be right at home, wouldn't you?"

More laughs as ANH shook his head, "Keep it down, bitch."

Hana immediately swirled to his direction, ready to pounce through the few bodies separating her from the man, but in an instant, a shrill whistle broke the air, gradually quieting the increasing laughter resulting from the argument, Katsura's voice emerging soon after, "Quiet down. You're all getting paid for this, so I expect you all to act like employees. and to take instruction like employees. Understood?"

Various sounds of agreement emerged from the lineup as Katsura came up from behind them, rounding one end of the line and stopping g at the first person there with a laptop held open in his hands. The person before him watched nervously, staring at the word processing program on the screen, unsure what was wanted.

Katsura spoke up, "'Margaret's Jackalope hopped vicariously zany through our orchard'. Type it."

The man's wide eyes turned toward the keyboard, his nerves forcing his fingers to tremble as they rose slowly, finding the home row before typing, skittishly, though still as fast as a secretary or other type-focused job might. Immediately, not five words in, Katsura yanked the keyboard away, watching the man emotionlessly.

"You're not needed. Please leave."

Along the line of gamers, heads appeared as they watched, aghast, as the man quaked uncertainly, "B-But what-"

"You're not needed," Katsura repeated, "Please leave. You'll be compensated for your time."

The man lowered his head shamefully, turning toward the door they had all come in through, where Jeong stood with a checkbook, watching quietly and merely handing off checks to anybody asked to leave. Katsura waited until the man left, the creaking of the door whining throughout the warehouse as he side-stepped in front of the next person, a woman.

"'Gently streaming along the volcanous ridge, the zealous youngling quaked'. Type it," Katsura instructed.

The woman, more prepared for the task, took in a sharp breath before typing, faster than the man before her, though only three words in, Katsura pulled the laptop away, leaving the woman stared up toward him with pleading eyes.

"You're not needed. Please leave."

Hana's eyes widened in shock, wholly unsure of what was going on as Katsura slowly made his way down the line. She peered over her shoulder only for a moment, catching a glimpse of Dae-hyun as he watched the administrator of this test just as confused as she. Still, she knew he was probably happy to see such a rigorous test, or rather, an exam that she had no idea what was being searched for. She bit her lip heartily, preparing herself as she returned to watching the man side-stepping along the line, having asked all of the people who'd taken the 'test' to leave.

Her eyes curled angrily as ANH's turn came, the scoundrel of a man readily cracking his knuckles as Katsura watched unenthused, muttering quietly, "'Merely Zion was hiding precariously and quietly beneath the mound'. Type it."

"I know, I know," ANH sniveled, rotating his shoulder before setting his fingers, a furious dashing of digits allowing him to complete the sentence, the first to do so.

Katsura's eyes narrowed but a moment, "You may stay."

A sneer grew across his face as ANH turned down the line, "Get on my level, mother fuckers! Pfft, ha ha!"

A quiet chorus of groans softly echoed throughout the room, though Katsura simply side-stepped along, finding the next pair of hands to take his test, the successful contestants proving to be sparse. Only one other managed to meet Katsura's standards before he closed in on Hana, the tension beginning to swell up inside her as she returned a glance over her shoulder to find Dae-hyun's face eyeing her determinately as though silently goading her along to succeed, probably only to see her not lose to that ANH jerk. She took a deep breath, jumping in surprise as Katsura stepped before the man directly to her right, her eyes widening as she stared at Katsura's torso, the man seeming to be a mammoth now.

"'Heavenly drops of tears showered down upon the questionable line of magazines'. Type it," Katsura ordered, though it was all for naught, the man beside Hana unable to get a single word in.

Her heart jumped as Katsura stepped in front of her, her spine shaking now that she fell into his stare. His eyes tensed as he examined her, waiting for the previous competitor to leave, allowing him a moment to critique her, comparing her to the face he saw on the television that night. That face, so unwilling to fail, as her fingers moved like bullets raining down upon the keyboard.

Hana held her breath at the whining of the door, her ears desperately perking up as she readied herself for Katsura's words, the man mulling over the sentence she was to recite in type-form, an unusual occurrence given that each time before had been near instance, as though he'd been practicing.

Katsura nodded, "'Pay attention to him and listen to his voice; do not defy him, for he will not forgive rebellion, since My Name is in him. But if you will listen carefully to his voice and do everything I say…"

Hana's eyes went wide.

"…I will be an enemy to your enemies and a foe to your foes. For My angel will go before you and bring you into the land of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hivites, and Jebusites, and I will annihilate them'."

Katsura paused for a moment before instructing, "Type it."

"The hell?!" Hana shouted in resignation, "All they had to type was eight words! That was, like, fifty!"

"Eighty," Katsura corrected, "Type it."

Dae-hyun's eyes were wide as well, though in sudden expectation. He hadn't a clue how, but this man had to have known about Hana, and known about her abilities. This wasn't a test on par with the others- he might have been testing the others' typing, but there was far more being tested in Hana's case. He felt his fingers curling along one other as he clasped his hands in breathless silence, lowering his shoulders as though this were the clutch moment of a competition.

"Type it," Katsura repeated, "or do I need to repeat my-"

Her brow furrowing with frustration, Hana's hands shot up toward the keyboard, her fingers firing like pistons as her hands flew back and forth, pecking at the keys so fast their clicking began to meld together into one continuous, droning sound. A few of her fellow gamers leaned forward in awe, watching the act with dropped jaws and wide eyes, unable to fully understand how she was doing what she was.

Katsura remained static as Hana withdrew her hands, frowning with righteous upset at being treated unfairly in relation to the others, though the man standing before her merely slid the keyboard back toward him, "I counted a word per minute of a hundred and eighty-two, give or take a-"

"One ninety-five," Hana confirmed, her voiced lined with something like a growl, though it quelled as she crossed her arms, "I had to backspace at the end. Didn't know how to spell Penzance or half of the other words."

Katsura's face appeared devoid of any emotion, though in a moment or two, a faint grin appeared on his face before stepping to the side, "You can stay."

Hana took a breath, bowing her head appreciatively before turning back over her shoulder once Katsura began with the next in line, eyeing Dae-hyun's awestruck face as she grinned proudly.

"The gingerly and old megalomaniac scrounged up seven zippers," Katsura asked of the next in line, "Type it."

* * *

By the end of the exercise, only five of the thirty-or-so people who had began remained, the cluster of them brought together from the non-existent lineup as Katsura closed his laptop, watching the five of them from over his glasses, "Alright. As promising as so many of you were, you five were the only ones I have much faith in when it comes to this project."

"Psh," ANH scoffed, shrugging, "You gonna explain this project any time soon? I blew off a hot date to be here, y'know."

Katsura eyed the young man with an emotionless stare, his eyes still peering overtop his thin framed glasses, slowly returning his attention to the group as a whole, "We're dealing with AI, artificial intelligence. It's no secret what's going on here; it's all over the news and-"

"I don't watch the news…" came the ginger voice of the only other girl besides Hana, a timid-looking young lady who went by Ruddy.

Another of the five, Soloewat, shrugged as well, "Me neither."

Katsura frowned, his eyes jumped toward Jeong, who merely shrugged in turn, shaking his head as he returned to his clipboard, shaking his head, "Don't even need a PR person…"

"Okay," Katsura began, "There are omnics attacking out shores, with flesh and blood men and women laying down their lives to protect us. They're the reason all of you are able to sleep soundly at night. but that's not sustainable. We need to be more efficient, more quick, more on-par with the omnics themselves."

Katsura turned toward the back of the warehouse, nodding to somebody out of the five's view, this action leading to a rather dramatic revealing of a machine, a mecha, from underneath a tarp that had been slid off from its frame, leading to Ruddy and the fifth of them, Malecaro, gasping in expectant surprise.

"I'm the director of the MEKA program," Katsura explained, "With humans working in tandem with AI constructs, I believe these MEKA units will turn the tide, literally; not only giving us the upper hand, but striking a major blow to the omnics' entire enterprise."

His voice dropped, "I believe these will win us the war."

Hana hadn't spoken, or thought much at all. Her eyes sparkled at the machine before her with her lips cracked in subtle awe. It was almost as though she'd been hoping for such a moment- to be in the presence of an actual robot such as this. Her brother and her had spent hours, constructing their own mechs out of cardboard, fighting off neighborhood cats, emulating the television shows that had become such a massive part of their lives.

Dae-hyun's mouth dropped, though he quickly spun to his side, staring at Jeong, who stood a few paces away, "W-Wait, you guys are-?!"

The man frowned, remaining attentive on the clipboard in his hands, "Our reputation _does_ precede us with one of you, huh…"

"Is this about those death-traps?!" Dae-hyun asked, his voice laced with concern.

Jeong shrugged, "What _is_ a death-trap, really? _Cars_ are death-traps, aren't they?"

Dae-hyun watched the man worriedly for a moment before returning to Hana's group, Katsura gesturing toward the MEKA unit, "What I want to do is have you all work with five different AI programs, seeing if we can't get you to work in tandem with these machines. These AIs have something akin to personalities, so by isolating you each to your own system, I'm hoping we can get, maybe, one or two of you taking advantage of your program. Understanding how they work, how to keep them in check, so on."

"So, what, we're like their handlers?" Soloewat inquired.

Katsura shrugged, "In a matter of speaking, yes. I refuse to allow one of these MEKA units to go on without a human in there to keep it in check. Otherwise, we're operating under no better method than the omnics are. "

"W-Wait, uh…" Ruddy muttered shakily, "You w-want us inside those things?"

"As pilots, yes," Katsura nodded, as though such a thought were wholly natural.

"I-I don't know…" Ruddy replied.

Soloewat and Malecaro had much the same reaction, the former scoffing in genuine discomfort, "D-Dude! That's insane; I-! We're not _pilots_ , we're gamers!"

"Well that's what the training will be for," Katsura replied, again, easily, "I had my best programmer on it, making the MEKA units interface just like a video game of sorts, and we can still adjust them to suit each of you. If you'd like, we can-"

"Pfft, come on, you babies," ANH sneered, stepping toward the MEKA, "It's a bit robust and stupid-looking, but this is fuckin' badass! C'mon! Get me in there- I'll show 'em what's good!"

Katsura shrugged, "Alright."

Jeong's face grimaced at his director's sudden acquiescence, returning to his clipboard to write out another observation, "Little regard…for the lives…of children…seemingly…"

His hands gripping ever-tighter to the chair beneath him, Dae-hyun watched with a mix of excitement and terror, wondering what Hana was taking from this entire endeavor. For her part, Hana remained on edge by these new developments, though wasn't sure whether or not to be enchanted by this opportunity. From what she was gathering, piloting these things seemed downright awesome, but to take them into combat? Her toes curled at the thought.

Katsura led ANH around to the hind portion of the unit, showing off the pedals with which he would enter the craft, "Just head first, like you're diving on into-"

"I know, I know," ANH interrupted, sliding into the unit and right on into the glassy cockpit, his head turning along his shoulders to examine the dome that kept him within the MEKA unit, "Shit man, this is pretty damn tight!"

Katsura asked as he rounded his way back toward the front of the unit, "Would you like to take it for a test drive?"

"Fuck yeah!" came the excited reply from the cockpit.

With a chorus of worried glances on either side of her, Hana's brow curled curiously, examining the machine as Katsura turned to face the person out of sight, nodding his insistence to turn the unit on. Dae-hyun's skin crawled as the unit lit up, a cacophony of virtual screens appearing across the glassy dome as though an operating system were beginning, the guest turning to Jeong with a worrisome look.

"A-Are you sure about-?"

"Kat has it under control," Jeong interrupted his assurance, "The dude in the machine may wet himself by the time this is all said and done, but he's got in under control."

Completely uncertain, Dae-hyun returned his attention back to the MEKA unit as ANH began piloting the machine, stepping back and forth, twist its upper body with quick movements of both yoke handles, his face agleam with childish abandon. Hana immediately felt the need to participate as well, her legs tingling as she silently wished for it to be her turn, though she gradually took notice of Katsura's expression, the older man's face remaining as stoic as ever, not at all thrilled by the ease with which ANH was taking to the machine itself.

A dull _BEEP_ broke Hana's curiosity as she spun back toward the MEKA, ANH's face quickly falling in confusion as the globular screen began acting up, lines of code suddenly running across windows, across the glass screen itself, millions of lines overtaking ANH's vision as his excitement grew into a rapid panic, turning his head down his body to find an exit switch. Another _BEEP_ blasted in his ears as the MEKA shook violently, sending ANH's body flying against the cockpit walls, the four others jumping in surprise, with Ruddy in particular covering her mouths, tears swelling in her eyes from the fear.

ANH's body twisted with terror as one of the MEKA's arms shot around, slamming its rotary gun right into the glass, sending a sickly _CRACKLING_ sound as cracks shot throughout the screen. The pilot cried out, his rapid movements sending his tears flying through the air, a shrill scream leaving him at the turret slammed once more into the cockpit, another _CRACK_ forcing ANH to cry out in panic.

"GAH! HELP!"

Katsura, as calm as ever, turned toward the unseen assistant, nodding once again, "Cut it."

In a near instant, power was stripped from the unit, its LEDs and screen immediately shutting of as ANH scurried about, desperate to find his escape, his panic forcing him to simply start slamming his feet into the cockpit walls, trying to break out almost as Katsura approached the machine, unlocking its door and allowing ANH to slide back out, though he barely found his footing, instead falling to his ass and skittering away backward, eyes wide in horror.

"You-! You fuckin' maniac!" he shouted at Katsura, aiming a finger at the machine, "That's a fucking devil machine!"

Katsura crossed his arms, "A machine is nothing more than the one controlling it."

ANH's brow fell in confusion as Katsura turned toward the other participants, "I'm not an evil man. I may have selected you all, but I wouldn't ever ask of you any of this without explaining the risks. We don't need you to understand these AI constructs simply so you understand them. It's so what just happened, stops happening."

His head fell, "We've lost too many soldiers by praying for a solution. It's time to be proactive for once."

"Now," he went on, clearing his throat, "If any of you have any reservations, you may step out now. Jeong over there, he has a check for your time if that's the case."

It took no time at all for Ruddy to turn and nearly dash out from the warehouse, not even bothering to look Jeong in the eye as she stripped the check from his grasp. ANH was next, clawing his way back to his feet and shouting aloud as he strode toward the doorway.

"You fuckin' monsters!" he cried, scowling at Jeong as he approached the door, "Keep your fuckin' money!"

Jeong shrugged in reply, stashing the check in his pocket before looking up to find Malecaro not far behind.

Katsura turned toward a nearby desk, tidying up some paperwork so as to not pressure the last too into making a decision, though Soloewat was slowly gathering his things and preparing to leave. Hana was doing much the same, her head hung low, only at the knowledge that Dae-hyun had been right to tell her not to bother coming here. He'd probably tease her about it for the rest of the day, she figured, a sigh escaping her as she took another look at the MEKA, a sadness ever-present within her. How neat it would have been…

Soloewat turned to leave, heaving his small backpack over his shoulder, leaving Hana alone to sigh deeply, bowing her head as she followed behind him, Katsura taking a cursory glimpse around his arm to find every one of his recruits to be unsatisfactory. He frowned, but only until he returned to his endless stacks of loose papers, where nobody could see him, when he left a lifeless breath of air escape him, his brow turned with anguished realization.

The realization that his idea had proved as fruitless as all the others.


End file.
